A Streggae Anthology
by Streggae
Summary: From the guy who brought you 'Hollowed Arc' and 'A Mother's Love' comes a collection of not-so short stories about my favorite knight in different AUs. Whether it be as the 'Grimm King' an 'Arcnesiac' badass with an ego to match his skills or just a 'Not So Common Criminal' from the streets getting by on questionable part time jobs. Either way there are endless possibilities.
1. A Not So Common Criminal

**A Not So Common Criminal**

" **Speech"**

' _Thoughts'_

 _Narration_

* * *

 _My name is Jaune Arc, I'm 17 years old and I've been through a lot of shit in my relatively short life. I've done and seen things that could blow people's minds or completely disgust them depending. I never really thought much on what I'd want to do with my life, you could say that I have a particular set of skills, knowledge and experience acquired over my unique lifestyle choice of part time jobs one of which happens to be working security at a nightclub._

 _The thing about working at a nightclub is the_ _night_ _aspect. Work for me starts at 7pm and ends at 4am. As such I get my eight hours of sleep when people are starting to just wake up. It's usually not a real problem._

*THUMP**THUMP**THUMP*

" _Jaune!"_

 _That is unless you don't have a pain in the ass landlord._

Jaune groaned and shoved the pillow in his face to drown out the noise.

*THUMP* *THUMP*

" _HEY! I know you're in there!"_

The banging and shouting continued until Jaune threw the pillow and sheet off himself to sit up and glare at the door. His eyes trailed off to the sheathed ratchet he kept under his pillow.

' _So tempting'_

Clad in nothing but shorts he went to the door and turned the lock but didn't take off the chain lock.

"Mr. Kanush, good night" he greeted sleepily.

"It's almost 12 in the afternoon" the older man snapped.

Kanush was a good foot shorter than Jaune but his mouth more than made up for his height.

"Where's my rent?"

"I said that I'd pay you by the end of the week, that's when I get my paycheck."

The man gave him a scathing glare "always the excuses with you, either you have my rent or you move out by the end of the week."

Jaune glared at him for a few moments before he spoke "I don't have the rent since I didn't get paid yet."

The man seethed but Jaune waved it like it wasn't his concern, which it wasn't "you'll get your money when I get paid so if there's anything else I'm gonna get some sleep" he yawned.

"I want my rent first thing on Saturday or your drug dealing ass is outta here!" he stomped off.

"Fuck you too" he closed the door.

 _Needless to say, my landlord is a son of a bitch. He thinks that for some reason wearing a hoodie and keeping to yourself means dealing drugs…okay he may have a point but you know what? Fuck that guy, the apartment wasn't worth the price. A small one bedroom place with a kitchen, bathroom and dining area I had to maintain myself since I got tired of complaining to the bastard._

 _With the amount of money I spend to make this place habitable he should be paying me but forget it._

"That's what I said but" he stretched his arms "there's no way I'm getting back to sleep."

He looked around the relatively clean apartment before heading to the kitchen "let's see what's for breakfast."

Inside the refrigerator were a few cans of soda, a box of milk, some pizza he was saving for dinner, an egg carton.

"Empty egg carton" he corrected shaking the empty box.

He took the milk but it was almost done, forget filling a bowl, it wouldn't even be able to fill a glass, he shrugged and took it out anyway. He checked the freezer to only see an ice buildup.

"Note to self, de-frost the freezer."

He took out a bowl filled it with milk that barely went quarter way and emptied a box of Pumpkin Pete's only for five flakes and starch dust to drop in.

"Shit."

He stared at the slightly orange milk and sighed before drinking the entire thing.

"I should get out of the house."

A quick shower later and he was in a black hoodie, faded ripped jeans and his only pair of sneakers. He grabbed his wallet, making sure to count the money inside before attaching the wallet chain to a belt loop and headed outside.

\

Jaune walked about the downtown streets of Vale with a slight smile. Kids played on the sidewalk, shops are open and the people are going about their business. Jaune walked into the convenience store and the first thing he saw was a wolf Faunus working the register. He had his eyes down peering at something in his palms.

"Rico!"

The boy almost jumped out of his skin at the volume "gah, Jesus Jaune what the hell!?"

Jaune ignored him and went over to the fruit stand "hey don't blame me, you're the one who's supposed to be watching the store."

The Faunus scoffed and they both gave a swindle slap greeting.

 _Rico Emmanuel Velasquez is one of the friends I've made in the neighborhood which considering that most of the residence are Faunus who have a few choice words about humans, was no small feat._

"What is it this time?"

"Got the final match in the MRC's this year" he grinned "you gotta check this out!"

Jaune suppressed a grimace as he caught sight of blonde hair and red haired women fighting each other. He did manage to block the image and gently pushed the scroll away "no thanks man, I'm on the clock, you know what it is"

Rico retracted the still playing video then looked at him before looking at the time "damn, didn't know it was so late. Why the hell do you look like _that_?"

Jaune scoffed "oh please, I just didn't get my beauty sleep" he smirked "see how much of a difference it makes" he said gesturing to his face.

Rico looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze "nope you've always looked like crap to me."

Jaune frowned and picked up three apples "well screw you too."

"Seriously though, what happened?"

"Ugh, long night" he leaned in and continued in a whisper "word on the street is the White Fang is stirring up some shit recruiting harder than usual, couldn't leave the old man by himself."

Rico gave him a skeptical look "think you'd make a difference though? I mean, you're good but these guys are hardcore, I mean blowing up trains and shit."

Jaune shrugged "like I care about any of that. I see any fake ass Grimm masks and they gets a fist full of Jaune."

"Whatever man"

"Yeah" he looked at the time "I gotta go so -"

Rico raised his hand "say no more, I already had it bagged."

"Thanks Rico, say hi to the folks for me!"

"Yeah, give my regards to the little monsters."

\

Jaune exited the store soon after and was walking the streets again, he turned the corner stopped before he came upon a playground. For a moment Jaune leaned against the entrance, watching the Faunus kids play amongst themselves, completely oblivious to his presence.

A few seconds later a younger boy stopped beside him, he wore a shirt one size larger a hat and cheap sunglasses to hide his features.

"You got the stuff?" he asked looking around.

Jaune rolled his eyes and flipped the hat off him.

"Hey!" he covered the floppy dog ears at the top of his head "what did yah do that for!?"

"Stop treating this like a drug deal Ralph, it's just candy" he held up a bag filled to the brim with an assortment of discounted sweets.

At the end of the sentence both boys noticed that the playground got eerily quiet. Both of them turned towards the kids who were looking at them.

"HE SAID CANDY!" a bunny girl shouted.

A wolf boy stood up with a dangerous glint in his eyes and pointed at him "GET HIM!"

 _Sometimes I forget about how acute a Faunus' hearing can be._

Jaune looked horrified as the kids stampede towards him. Thinking fast Jaune did a corkscrew jump over the crowd, once upside down he grinned at their astonished faces in slow motion and did a two finger salute. The moment his feet touched the ground he made a b-line to the jungle gym where he easily made his way to the top.

The angry/hungry mob was quick to follow and soon the crowd had him surrounded on all sides.

One bear Faunus kid stepped forward "give us the candy _or else_ " he drew back a slingshot to validate his threat.

"Wait, let's make a deal!" he held out the bag of candy "I have enough for everyone so if you line up I will give you the candy for my freedom."

"Or we could beat you up and take it" the wolf Faunus countered.

"You want to risk it? cause I could always throw it in the street."

The wolf and bear looked to each other before the rabbit girl step forward "what are your terms?"

"I want a single file line, any specific request will be taken under advisement" with those words the kids were quick to form a line.

 _It was a little ritual I did from time to time with the neighborhood kids whose parents couldn't afford some of the luxuries of life._

"Let me guess you want the carrot sticks?"

The little Faunus girl who couldn't be older than 10 looked affronted "that's a stereotype!"

' _Where'd she learn a word like that?'_

"Oh" Jaune held up the candy carrots "so I guess you don't want-*swish* these?"

Jaune glanced at his empty hand then back at the bunny girl who looked more like a squirrel eating the sweet. Jaune scoffed with a shake of his head to resume distributing the candy until only one remained.

"Sorry Ralph" he turned the bag upside down "I'm all out."

"Bullshit"

*Smack*

"Ow-what the _hell_!"

"Watch your language"

"What are you, my mother?"

"If I was I'd spank you right then and there"

Ralph rolled his eyes "seriously though, cough it up" he extended his palm flexing his fingers in a grabbing gesture.

Jaune shrugged and Ralph scowled, his dog ears twitched "I can smell it on you."

This time the teen reached into his pocket and pulled out two lollipops "nothing gets by you does it?"

"Yep" he snatched the lollipops out of his hand but instead of playing with the others he sat beside Jaune watching over everyone else.

"Not gonna play with the others?"

"Naw"

"…something on your mind?"

He saw the boy adopt a contemplative look before turning to him with a curious expression "where'd you learn how to do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know, fight."

' _I don't like where this conversation is heading.'_

"Why?"

"I wanna know"

"Okay, _why_ do you want to know?"

"What, can't a kid be curious?"

He was being defensive _'Cool it Jaune, there could be another reason why he wants to know.'_

Jaune looked to the clouds "it wasn't in Vale I can tell you that" blue eyes shifted to see his posture slump a bit.

It perked a little on his next question "so where is it?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Because, I have no idea."

Ralph frowned at his innocent expression "wh-

"Why are you so interested anyway? Don't tell me you want to learn how to fight like me" he chuckled.

"Yes."

Jaune's chuckling abruptly halted as he looked at the boy.

"Why's that?"

"I'm a twelve year old Faunus orphan Jaune, my best options are either working in the mines or joining the White Fang."

Jaune brow furrowed "who told you that?"

"No one, I'm just being realistic."

"If you were then you'd know those aren't your only options" he ignored the dismissive scoff "I mean look at me, I can kick ass and I'm still living in a crappy apartment with a shitty job."

"That's cause you're an idiot" he replied as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?"

"Dude, it's not exactly a secret that you actually love it here."

"I wouldn't say I love it…"

"We both know that if you wanted to you could be out of here."

Jaune snorted "and how would I do that?"

"Beacon"

The one word managed to put a frown on his face and sour his mood.

" _Hell, no_ "

"Why not? Seriously if you went to Beacon you could be a Hunter. You have any idea how much perks you get for that?"

Jaune sighed.

"I'm talking about, money, fame…chicks…"

"-risking my life to fight abominations of darkness, fighting a bunch of people for the entertainment of the masses, not getting so much as a thank you for saving some ungrateful schmuck's life."

Ralph raised an eyebrow "what?"

"Oh, come on Ralph, you're not actually buying that bullshit the council advertises are you?"

"You just don't like hunters."

Jaune frowned but didn't make eye contact, choosing to keep his gaze forward.

"It's a lot more complicated than just not liking them Ralph. I'm not their biggest fan and I've met some I can say I definitely hate but that doesn't mean I hate Hunters in general. I don't label people based on the actions of a few. That would be like hating the Faunus because of the White Fang, you know?"

"Yeah" he said looking down "those idiots are giving all Faunus a bad name. Still, how come you're not at least trying to get in Beacon?"

"Uh, because I don't want to" he said obviously "look just because I know how to fight doesn't mean I want to be a Hunter. There's no big rhyme or reason why I don't want to be a Hunter other than the job just doesn't appeal to me."

"Really?"

"Really. Does a guy who knows how to cook five star meals _have_ to be a professional chef _?_ "

"…can you still teach me how to fight?"

"Ralph-"

"It's not about trying to be a Hunter! It's just, I figure it's better to _know_ how to do something and never doing it than to not know and can't do it when you need to do it."

Jaune stared at him for a long while before he spoke "where did this come from?"

Jaune's known Ralph for a long time now and despite being amazed by Jaune's skills he's never actually cared to ask to learn before, unless…

"Did something happen?"

"No! Why would you think that?"

' _Bullshit'_

Jaune eyed him suspiciously.

"Kinda warm to be wearing long sleeves don't you think?"

Immediately Ralph tensed and Jaune grabbed his shirt.

"It's nothing!"

Undeterred Jaune rolled up his sleeves to see bruises along his arms at which point Ralph stopped struggling.

"It's nothing"

Jaune stared at his arms then in a single motion took off his glasses before stopping the urge to break them in his hand. Ralph sported a swollen black eye that made Jaune want to strangle the one who did it.

"Who did this?"

"…"

"Hey!" he grabbed his shoulder dropping to eye level " _who, did, this?_ "

"…just some guys."

"Give me details Ralph, when did this happen, who did it and where do they hang out?"

Ralph tried to wrench his arm away but ultimately gave up "it's none of your business."

Jaune was not known to be sensitive.

"The hell its not! Now tell me who did this!"

"I can't!"

"Why not!?"

"Because I want to beat those jerks myself!"

"…what?"

"These assholes keep harassing us. I tried to fight back but there's too many of them."

At this point Jaune let him go

"I saw them beat up a bunch of guys at once."

"Why didn't you just tell someone?"

He scoffed "like anyone's going to give a crap about some kids messing with a Faunus."

' _I give a crap'_

"Besides, even if I told someone and they did something about it they're just gonna come back and make it worse when the heat dies down."

 _He's not wrong, contrary to popular belief when it comes to bullying its better for the victim to resolve the issue rather than involve a third party. Because, more often than not, the bullies would just come at the victim even harder. Besides, as a man it's better for them to handle their own business._

Jaune ran a hand through his hair "this guy, how old is he?"

"I don't know, 15 I think"

"You don't know his age?"

"I'm sorry I was too busy getting acquainted with his and his friend's fists."

Jaune flicked him on the head "rule number 1, know your enemy. I take it, it isn't the first he's harassed you."

"No"

"How long?"

"A few weeks"

Jaune inhaled through his nose "you should have told me."

"Are you gonna help or not?"

He sighed "I'll help but I'm just gonna teach you enough to fight this kid, so don't expect me to unlock your Aura or show you how to fight Grimm."

Ralph slumped a little "oh"

Jaune gave a skeptical glance "really?"

"I mean you know, don't you need to do that stuff to fight?"

"Actually no, you don't. Did you actually think I was going give you Hunter training?" he scoffed and pushed the hat over his eyes.

"Hey!"

"Nice try Ralphy. Now get back to the others. I'll set a date if my calendar clears up."

\

 **Local Basketball Court**

 _One of the most important activities for me is exercising. Whether you're a Hunter, a soldier or even a civilian you need to exercise in order to keep fit. That's why ever so often me and the neighborhood boys like to come together for a game of basketball._

"What's up bitches!"

"About damn time!" one man said. He had a shaved head ad dark skin wearing shorts and a sleeveless jersey

"The hell took you so long?" a Tiger Faunus question.

"Hey relax Ron" he said addressed the first man "and I was dealing with some business."

"Careful Jaune" said boy turned to see a particularly tall man with dark skin, his hair set in a buzzcut stroll onto the court "some people seeing you play with kids might get the wrong idea."

"Well Michaels you tell those guys" and he proceeded to flip the bird.

"So we getting this game going or what homes?" spoke a slightly tanned youth with teardrop tattoos on the left side of his eye.

Ron bounced the ball once before speaking "let's do it"

\

Two hours later a sweat drenched Jaune headed straight home to shower and change his clothes before he headed out again. Since his food supply was running dry he decided to save from buying and cooking the food by eating out.

' _And what better way than to go to the best noodle shop in Vale.'_

A Simple Wok which is ironic considering how many complex dishes the place make. The place was devoid of any customers which was good because Jaune would like to enjoy his meal in relative peace.

So hopping on the stool on the edge of the counter he greeted the owner/chef "hey old timer. Gimme a bowl of beef noodles, extra beef" he placed a few chips of Lien on the counter.

The old man silent as ever scooped up the chips, gave a nod and went around the back to prepare his meal. Jaune shook his head lightly two months of knowing him and the man hadn't said anything to him short of a mumble or grunt. Jaune's sure by now that he's a mute or just very, very shy. He also learned that the man somehow owned several businesses which he manages, he should know, he frequents his Dust shop.

' _I think I saw him driving a truck once.'_

He would've asked but knowing the old man he wouldn't have gotten an answer.

When the large bowl was shoved to him Jaune found his mouth was watering and dug into it with gusto. Jaune wasn't much for manners but even he knew not to be a total slob in public, not unless he was really trying to make someone uncomfortable anyway.

Jaune finished his meal by tilting the bowl into his mouth and drinking the contents. Releasing a content sigh he pushed the bowl forward.

' _Best damn noodles in Vale'_

He turned in his stool but he didn't leave, not yet. He picked his teeth with a complimentary toothpick while viewing the street before him.

' _A perfect end to a perfect day.'_

 _\_

 _Or at least the perfect way to start my job._

"…hey"

"Yeah?"

"You ever wonder why we're here?"

"No, boss told us to guard the back entrance in case someone tries to sneak in the club."

"No not _here_ I mean why are we here, alive, as humans?"

Jaune turned to him, his expression obscured by the red tinted sunglasses, a hat covered his blonde hair. They were both dressed in black suits with red ties.

"Jimmy, what the fuck are you talking about? Wait" his eyes narrowed "haave you been hitting the pipes again?"

The man known as Jimmy shrugged "I'm just saying, why are we here? Was it just some big cosmic coincidence? Or is there really a god out there, watching?"

"You're high aren't you? Either that or you're just incredibly stupid"

"…hey I'm not stupid!"

The moment those words left his mouth the blonde face palmed "god dammit Jimmy, you know you're not supposed to be doing that shit."

"Oh I'm sorry Mr. high and mighty but some of us don't have a problem smoking weed" he scoffed "punk ass think you're better than me just because you ain't hit the pipe yet."

"I don't care if you want to smoke Jimmy, I really don't but do you have to do it when we're on the clock? I mean come on man! You know Junior's going to deduct from your pay if he finds out you're skimming from his stash."

"Who says this is Junior's shit?"

"I can smell it on your shirt Jimmy" he deadpanned.

"So what? Not like he's going to find out, _right_?"

The silent threat went over the blonde's head as he dismissed it with a wave of his hand "yeah, yeah but remember if he finds out it's _your_ ass."

"Right" the blonde could _hear_ the eye roll in his voice.

"I'm serious Jimmy, I'm not going to cover for you this time and I swear if you call my name-"

Jimmy raised his hands in surrender "okay, okay I get it!"

 _The reason why I'm out here with this drug addict of a guy is because it's part of my job. The job as one of The Club's many nondescript bouncers. Why am I here instead of…anywhere else you ask? Well there aren't not a lot of places in Vale that hire 17 year olds with no formal schooling and the places that do are either minimum wage or illegal._

 _The Club's not exactly illegal but some of its operations are, not that I care, I'm in it for the money plus anything short of killing people is fair game for me. I don't care if some poor schmuck wants to do coke, it's their life as long as they don't screw with me._

' _Case in point.'_

 _The guy standing next to me is Jimmy. He's just like every other guy Junior (my boss) hires. Some punk he found off the street that could make decent muscle. Doesn't matter if he's a drug addict, as long as he can stay straight during his shift then it's all cool. Besides he can always have him guard the back….like me._

 _It wasn't an exaggeration to say Junior had a lot of guys on the payroll and they don't all hang out at The Club. Only the ones who are presentable enough get to work at Junior's club but sometimes there are people who are eligible to work there but can't be inside. For example an underage kid and a pothead._

' _That's fine, I still get paid and at least I don't have to deal with whatever crap they have going on in there.'_

 _The thing about working outside a club is that sometimes you miss things_

"Do you hear that Jimmy?"

"…nope."

" _Exactly_ "

 _Like when the music stops._

Jaune made his way into the club with Jimmy trailing behind him.

"What the…"

"Holy…"

The dance floor was a wreck, the rest of the guys were sprawled across the room and junior was unconscious in the corner. What had both men in awe was the thing taking place on the dance floor. The twins were fighting some blonde girl

"Uh, should we help them?"

Jaune spared him a glance "do they look like they need help?"

Jaune gestured to the twins who were currently double teaming the blonde with a flurry of slashes and kicks to finish off with a double kick to the chest sending her flying.

 _The twins, Melanie and Militia were The Club's last line of defense, in case the patron's are more than what the regular guys can handle. Between the two of them they make an almost unstoppable team…or so I thought._

Blondie wasn't even on the ground for two seconds before she got up and propelled herself with her Shotgun-gauntlets to deliver a heavy punch to Melanie's face leaving Militia alone to deal with her. The red twin held her own until blondie started firing buckshots to get past her guard.

Several more punches to the gut to propel her in the air and a final one to launch her into the glass pillar and Militia was sown for the count. Jaune and Jimmy winced at her impact.

"Ouch"

"That gonna leave a mark."

Now Melanie was alone, she flipped back to avoid more buckshots ending with a spinning kick that blondie blocked. The two started trading kicks but Melanie had the advantage so her opponent tried a buckshot punch but Melanie did a roundhouse kick to disrupt the shot. Using the same leg she attempted multiple kicks but was blocked.

She did an abrupt axe kick to deflect another buckshot punch and finished up with a spinning back kick to the chest sending the blonde skidding away. This time the white clad twin went for the attack doing a series of feints to catch blondie off guard. The feints were all blocked and on the fifth try blondie spun on her knee to do a reverse elbow strike to the twin's stomach.

Melanie staggered back and the blondie grabbed her hand twisted it and dragged her in a circle before performing spinning kick that nailed her in the face incidentally performing a lariat.

At this point Jaune and Jimmy's mouths dropped "that was fucking brutal."

Then blondie turned her attention to them _'dammit Jimmy!'_

"Oh shit."

Jaune straightened up when the blonde prepared to charge only to stop at the sound of Junior coming from the back with a bazooka over his shoulder.

"You're going to pay for that"

"Shit's about to get real" jimmy whispered.

"No kidding"

"Think we should help?"

Junior fired several rockets to which the blonde flipped and rolled from the impact. At this point Jaune spied Melanie limping towards her fallen sister. His eyes flickered back to the fight to see Junior smash blondie away with the Bazooka which was now a baseball bat.

"I don't think he needs any-" Jaune's words caught in his mouth when he saw the blonde stood up, punch her fist together and erupted in flames "scratch that you go help the twins, I'll back up the boss."

"You sure about that?" Jimmy asked.

Jaune would have answered but then Junior landed right beside him with his weapon punched clean off and a long strand of hair in his hand. He stood up smirking at the blonde who looked at the strand. First Jaune saw her eyes change to red right before she literally erupted in a blaze of fire.

"I'll just let you handle it then!"

Jimmy was gone but Jaune didn't pay attention to that, he looked at his boss' trembling form before his eyes shifted to the raging blonde and sigh.

' _He doesn't pay me enough for this'_

Before her fist could connect with Junior's face Jaune pushed him out the way and got in front of the now surprised blonde. Ignoring the sting of the buckshot he stretched his palm out to catch her fist but instead of stopping it he allowed her momentum to continue. While cupping her outstretched fist with one hand his other came to her bicep to lift it while simultaneously directing her fist down.

This resulted in an overhead throw using her own momentum with the least movements on Jaune's part.

"WHA-!"

*CRASH*

The blonde was so surprised that she neglected to right herself mid air and crashed into what's left of the steps that lead to the DJ booth.

Jaune spared a glance to Junior who looked at him in shock "might wanna give us some space boss" he spoke backing away "this is gonna get ugly."

The moment those words left his mouth blondie erupted from the rubble not looking the least bit winded. Jaune noted that the flames centered on her hair.

' _If it has something to do with her Semblance no wonder she was pissed Junior snatched some of it.'_

The blonde regarded him with some mild shock before she smashed her fist together, there was nothing that needed to be said. Jaune himself fished out brown fingerless gloves, if he's about to kick ass he might as protect his assets.

Both fighters met with a flurry punches, blocks and counters, obviously the blonde was just testing the waters…that or she just didn't take him seriously.

' _Let's fix that'_

Jaune elbow struck her right straight down, he ducked her left hook to do a reverse elbow strike to her stomach so hard she doubled over and he finished with an axe kick to her face sending her sprawling on her back. not a second later she did a kip up to close the relatively short distance.

She caught him off guard with her recovery speed and successfully did a buckshot punch to gut that made him double over while sliding back. She followed up with a round house kick that sent him flying but he managed to do a handspring to flip backwards onto his knees.

Jaune saw her smirking arrogantly at him and he scowled

' _Bitch'_

They both ran at each other

' _I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face!'_

Their fists collided with the blonde releasing a shot and causing an explosion that sent both of them careening on opposite ends of the dance floor. The blonde flipped mid air to land on her feet while Jaune crashed into the tree. He glared at the blonde before standing and went into a stance while she did a boxing stance.

This time the blonde attacked first by jumping to before firing an explosive shot. Jaune ducked and did a roundhouse kick which she managed to dodge upon landing. He managed to block her punches with some difficulty due to her strength. He deflected a cross punch which she tried to turn into a backhand but Jaune swept her feet from under her.

Upon falling in a spin she planted her hand in the ground to do a double handstand kick, the first one Jaune blocked but the second tripped him. The blonde was quick to get jump and slam her fist into him but he managed to roll away.

*Boom*

Her fist hit the ground in an explosion that left a crater.

Jaune kicked behind her knees and did a roundhouse kick to the back of her head causing her to stagger forward where he took advantage to rush her with a series of punches which she weaved through before cocking her fist back to retaliate but Jaune surprised her when his knee came up to strike her exposed midriff.

His foot struck forward but she blocked and tried to deflect but it was a feint and he turned the front kick to an axe kick which she side stepped to grabbed his arm and threw him at the tree. He righted himself to land feet first on the tree and kicked off to catch her head between his thighs. Jaune spun her around fell into a handstand and threw her into the bar.

*Crash*

The blonde crashed into the counter but she recovered quickly enough "grrr" the flames seemed to permeate as she released a volley of three shots at Jaune who flipped past all of them without breaking stride.

The girl had to dive roll away to avoid the axe kick that sunk his foot halfway into the counter. Jaune rushed after her with a spinning back kick that was dodged followed by a side kick that was blocked and affront kick that was blocked again. Jaune kept on the attack with punches that were narrowly dodged until she chanced a kick that Jaune went to block.

The kick turned out to be a feint for the girl to release a shot but Jaune side stepped it and kicked the girl in the side and followed up with a spinning back kick to her chest.

The girl slid a few feet away while glaring at him with red eyes jerking her arms, the gauntlets opened to release empty shells to the ground and she tossed two belts of shells and caught them in the gauntlets effectively pulling off a reload.

' _Crap'_

Jaune glanced down at one of the square tiles and smirked a bit. The girl started letting loose a volley of shots and that's when Jaune kicked up a large square tile to block the shots. It was only for a moment but it obscured Jaune from view and before the tile was destroyed he jumped over it to deliver a kick that was unfortunately blocked.

She did a kick that was blocked but followed up with a barrage of punches Jaune deflected with his palms. On the last deflect he punched forward but she blocked with her forearms, he did a spinning backhand but she leaned away and when he followed up with a punch she grabbed his hand and pulled him forward.

She brought up her knee to strike his face but he caught it instead so she used her other hand to deliver a buckshot punch to his gut and another with her other hand. The wind was knocked out of Jaune and before he could recover she attempted a kick but he managed to slap it down and do his own.

She blocked his kick but was pushed back by his followed up spinning back kick. She attempted a roundhouse kick then a spinning kick he ducked and counter with a roundhouse kick which was also ducked. She did a one two punch combo the second of which discharged a buckshot to his cross guard.

Jaune flew a few feet but instantly charged her with a flying kick she blocked but didn't expect three more kicks to the face before gravity claimed him. He landed and attempted a spinning backhand but she ducked it, grabbed his wrist in a vice like grip and punch him in the stomach… _hard_.

*Bang*

Then an uppercut to the chin

*Bang*

And finished off with a _yamazuki_ that caught his face and chest.

 ***Bang***

Jaune flew towards where Jimmy, the twins and Junior were watching and rolled into a crouch with his head down.

The girl was panting now "hey, not bad guy"

Jaune wiped the trickle of blood from his lip before his Aura healed it "I thought the cat got your tongue or am I just special."

She straightened up and grinned "nah you lasted longer than them."

"That right?" he stood up still not facing her.

"Hmm-hm"

"You know I'd like to have friendly banter as much as the next guy but I'm not in the mood" he started pulling off his tie.

The girl pouted "aw don't be like that~" she teased.

"You come in here, attack my co-workers and my boss and" he turned around "you broke my sunglasses" he took said glasses off and stepped on it "we are _way_ past talking."

"Jimmy hold my shirt" He unbuttoned his and gave it and his tie to Jimmy.

The girl went into a south paw stance as he approached slowly until they were ten feet apart. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his vest and rolled up his sleeves, his eyes not leaving hers.

She scoffed a little "not gonna lose the hat?"

"Not gonna lose the attitude?"

The crisp retort made her frown but she didn't falter in the banter "yeesh, overreaction much."

"Says the girl who exploded over her hair" he deadpanned before going into an open palm stance, both feet forward, hands mirroring the position with his palms facing inwards.

The girl cocked her head and eyebrow at the odd, vaguely familiar stance.

"What's the matter, scared?"

Her fists clenched and shot her hands behind to propel herself to him with a shot-punch he deflected with a spin. Not falling for it twice, she halted her momentum to kick from behind but his palm blocked it down. He attempted a back kick but she ducked and tried a backhand that was caught.

She spun to use her other hand to do a shot punch but he leaned away at the last second to dodge it, sidestepped the follow up kick and deflect the roundhouse kick. He grabbed her hand when she attempted a punch, ducked the shot to do a elbow strike the side of her ribcage before dealing a palm strike to her shoulder.

"Argh!"

With a growl she jerked her hand away to do a backhand but he leaned away simultaneously doing a front kick that sent her staggering. He went back into the stance with his face stoic he gestured with his palm for her to attack and she took the challenge with all the tact of a bull.

She charged firing shots that Jaune dodged but once she was in close he took to redirecting all of her buckshot punches with well placed palm strikes to her wrist, forearms and elbows until the last shot where grabbed her arm and judo threw her to the ground with her hand behind her back. Jaune wasted no time in delivering a powerful knee strike directly to the side of her face.

"Agh!"

He saw the flames on her hair die a bit from his attack and pressed forward. She saw him coming and did a double handstand-kick which he blocked. She got to her feet and attempted a side kick but he did a front kick to the back of her thigh forcing her to lose her balance and stagger. He capitalized on her loss of balance with several gattling jabs to her chest and face ending with a powerful punch that slammed the back of her head into the door.

She reared back her hand to fire a shot but he leaned away while delivering a palm strike to her face. She tried to use her other hand but Jaune used his right forearm to her wrist to halt the trajectory while sidestepping the shot and deliver a elbow strike across her face with his left arm.

He punched her square in the chest to keep her pinned to the door and delivered a series of elbow strikes. The girl had no choice but to put her arms up in an attempt to protect her head and face. It was when he reared his fist back did she take the chance to duck and roll from under him. She vaguely caught the sound of the metal door denting.

She came from her dive panting, her lilac eyes widen when he wasn't there. Her eyes darted around the area but he was gone. Upon hearing incoming footsteps she whipped around just in time to be punched across the face. Her Aura visibly flickered before her body slammed into the metal door and she collapsed face first on the floor.

There was a brief moment of silence where everyone gawked at him while he slowly lowered his fist. After a moment of her being unresponsive he gave a tired sigh and turned to the peanut gallery.

"You guys okay?"

Junior was the first one to break out of his shock "what the hell was that?" he gestured to the unconscious girl then him.

"Me earning my paycheck" he said as if it was obvious "that's the reason why you hired me right?"

Junior's mouth opened but it closed just as fast and he adopted a stern gaze "what's your name kid?"

Jaune stared at him _'it's been almost two weeks and he doesn't even remember my name?'_

His eye twitched at the revelation but he sucked it up "Jaune"

"Good job"

' _Good job?'_

He looked around "you're club is destroyed" he noted.

Junior looked around and grimaced "at least you got the one who did it."

Again his eyes trailed to the blonde girl's unconscious form, Jaune shrugged _'whatever helps him sleep at night.'_

"So do I get paid extra for this?"

Junior glared at him "no"

"No? I singlehandedly put her down when she kicked all your asses."

"That's what I pay you for"

"You pay me to guard against punks and drunk civilians. You pay the twins to handle anything above my pay grade like say, a _trained Huntress,_ who by the way beat them" he glanced at the twins "no offence."

Melanie rubbed her jaw while Militia held her stomach with a grimace.

Junior still held firm so Jaune sighed "you know what fine, if I'm not gonna be properly compensated for my hard work then I'm out. You guys can deal with the next pissed off Hunter that strolls in."

"Ugh~" the girl groaned, starting to stir.

"I guess that's my cue" he mumbled before heading towards the door.

The twins looked worriedly at their boss while Junior paled "alright, alright! Fine" this made him stop "you'll get your compensation."

"Great~" he pulled the brim of his hat down further to approach the blonde Huntress.

She managed to get to her knees before he grabbed her by the scruff of her jacket and pushed her back against the door. She looked pretty Jaune admitted, even with the bruised cheek, bloody nose and black eye.

"What's your name blondie."

"Y-Yang."

"Well _Yang_ I'm gonna only say this once so listen up. I don't know who you are and I don't care. I made you lose your attitude, if I ever see you causing trouble here again" he pulled out a switchblade and held it to her throat "you'll lose something more _permanent_ "

Just for kicks he brushed the blade against her bangs and her eyes widen in panic "no!"

He pushed her against the door harder " _shut, up_. Just remember what I said because your life and your _hair_ are going to be on the line, _got it_?"

"G-got it"

He backed away and jerked his head "now beat it."

She said nothing more and went through the door with her tail between her legs. Jaune held no sympathy, she should have thought about it before thrashing The Club.

He shook his head "fucking Hunters."

This is exactly why he didn't like Hunters, they think just because they have power they can do whatever they want with no consequences. At least some of them know their place but then you get the ones like _Yang_.

He turned to the thrashed club, Junior was in the middle of it grumbling to himself while Jimmy was helping the twins up the stairs to the condo upstairs. He sighed,

 _It felt good putting blondie in her place but it was a hollow victory at best. Beating blondie wasn't going to fix The Club or pay for damages. On the bright side, at least Junior's reputation would still be intact. As far as gangbangers went Junior was mild, he was still hardcore but he was a businessman (a stingy one) and I prefer that to an ignorant jackass._

I walked up to him "so what now boss?"

Junior had a piece of glass in his hand "gonna assess damages and clean up. Place will be shut down for a few days-"

A glass pillar collapsed

"-weeks, we'll be shut down for a few weeks" he swept a hand through his hair "fuck."

"Come in tomorrow?"

Junior gave him a raised eyebrow "yeah I still got some stuff for you to do. Christ kid why didn't you tell me you were combat trained?"

Jaune scowled at him "I _did_ "

"Really?" Junior couldn't believe that, how the hell could he have a guy arguably more skilled than the twins on the payroll and put him on back entrance duty.

"I'm pretty sure I put it I put 'combat trained' on my resume under 'skills listing'"

Junior gained some clarity "oh"

"…you didn't read it did you?"

Junior didn't look remorseful "you wouldn't believe how many of these morons put down combat trained after a few rounds in a boxing ring."

Jaune could understand that,

 _There's a big difference between combat trained and knowing how to fight. The key difference being Aura, being 'combat trained' means that you have your Aura unlocked and trained knowing how to utilize it along with some formal training in combat. Contrary to popular belief, it's a lot more complex than simply knowing a few moves and having your Aura unlocked._

"In my defense kid, you don't exactly dress like someone combat trained."

"What you mean my clothes don't have a color theme and I don't carry around stupidly complex weapon?" he scoffed "I don't need all that to prove I can kick ass and the last thing I want to do is be compared to a _Hunter_."

Junior didn't miss the contempt in his voice when he said the word.

"Besides" he cracked a grin "I like the suit."

Junior stared at him for a moment before guffawing "heh, you're alright Jaune" he shrugged in response "alright get outta here and come back tomorrow."

"Alright boss" he gathered his suit jacket and tie before heading for the back.

\

Twenty minutes later and Jaune was walking down the poor streets of vale wearing blue ripped jeans, dirty white sneakers and his black hoodie he had up to conceal his face. Soon the smell of sewers and the sight of gutter trash entered his vision. Hustlers hung out on the street corners talking and the convenience store owner was closing shop.

Today was an early night thanks to blondie, he was used to going home with a lot less people on the road. Not that it really mattered, no one really messed with him, as far as people were concerned he was just another punk on the street.

He turned into an apartment complex and headed up the stairs towards his room. Once he unlocked the doors a smile came to his face.

"Home sweet home"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Continuing my time into new territory I've always toyed with the concept of Jaune as a gangster, well not a gangster but a thug.**

 **To be clear this take on the blonde knight wasn't grown in a warm household, he lived his life in the ghetto on the edge of poverty. He isn't chivalrous and isn't out to be a hero making the world a better place. He's just a guy trying to get by in life in the way** _ **he wants to**_ **. He doesn't give shit about authority and though he has enough of a moral compass to not be a complete asshole the only people he really cares about are the ones from his neighborhood.**

 **On the other hand though he isn't an ignorant gangbanger he can sympathize with people on the wrong side of the law and the so-called 'rats' of society so any crime they commit he gets it enough not to hold it against them…much.**

 **PS: Stay Tuned for Valentines Day or what I'd like to call crackship day where I will be releasing stories dedicated to two of my favorite (and most obscured) crackships.**


	2. Arcnesia

**Summary: What does it take for a person to be a skilled huntsman? They say years of hard work, dedication and practice. Then how long would it take to lose all of that skill? As simple as a bump on the head. What if Jaune Arc lost the most important thing to have at a Hunter academy and so much more? What if he got it back during initiation?**

* * *

 **Arcnesia**

' _I'm going to die'_ he thought tumbling through the air.

' _I'm really going to die'_

Idly he wondered if anyone else faced his problem.

"WHOOHOO!"

Probably not, after all they signed up for whatever _this_ is. He sure as hell didn't, he signed up to fight not think of a way to survive a freefall.

Dammit

They never said anything like this was going to happen.

' _Wait, what is that?'_

Through the aerial tumbling which was bringing him closer to a tree he saw _something_ heading right towards him. It may just be his imagination causing him to hallucinate due to spinning mixed with the putrid taste of the bile threatening to escape his lips but it almost looks like a-

"GAH!"

The javelin tip snagged the hem of his jeans slicing just above the ankle and ripped right through the fabric. The plus side it did manage to rearrange his flight so that he was now sailing face first. The bad news is its directly into a tree branch.

*Smack*

Face met bark and his body did a aerial backflip which angled his back in the path of falling branches causing him to slam off another tree and land in a bush before rolling off like a ragdoll. Cut up, bruised and with blood trailing down between his face, his glazed eyes could only look up between the leaves at the sunlight peaking through and past the constant ringing in his ears could make up a distant yell.

" _I'm Sorry!"_

Now didn't that bring back memories.

\

 _ **Seven Years Ago…**_

" _I'm sorry son but I can't teach you right now."_

 _A young boy with unruly blonde hair and blue eyes looked to the older man "w-why?"_

" _I'm just really busy right now okay, maybe next time" he tussled the boy's hair._

 _The boy wasn't amused and used his training sword to smack his hand away "that's what you said last time! I wanna train NOW!" he stomped his foot._

" _I'm sorry son but-"_

" _You trained my sisters, so why not me too!?"_

 _The man sighed "it's complicated"_

 _When he said nothing else but giving an apologetic look, the boy knew it was a lost cause. Another empty promise from the man he admired and still does._

 _It's the reason why he's so angry with him._

" _I hate you!"_

 _Nothing else was heard after the loud declaration and he never saw the dejected look on the older male. So caught up in his grief and frustration he didn't see what was right in front of him until it was too late._

" _Oof!"_

 _The boy landed on his rear, blinking through the stinging in his eyes he looked up to gaze into chestnut brown eyes._

" _A-Amy" he sniffled._

 _The older girl with short blonde hair dyed purple at the tips looked at him._

" _Jaune,_

\

 **Present Day…**

The first thing he registered was the pain, his head _freaking hurt_ like a bi-

"Oh good your alive."

"Ugh" he groaned getting the feeling of his limbs back "did anyone get the number of that truck?"

A snort was his response "if you can make jokes then you're fine"

He rolled over to his hands wincing ever so slightly "what the hell happened?"

The was some crunches, grass being crushed under boots "you tell me, I found you laying on the grass. Look if you're really fine we should probably go and finish this initiation-"

His eyes snapped open at that, memories bringing the spark of clarity yet at the same time wrought confusion. Reaching up to his head he cringed when he grazed a cut and brought back his hand to see blood.

"Well that's not good" he mumbled.

"You should get that looked at"

He turned towards the voice but kept his eyes on the blood on his hand "yeah"

"Are you sure you're going to be alright like that? Maybe you should quit, you might not get into Beacon but at least you won't get killed by any Grimm."

Initiation…Beacon…Grimm…Emerald Forest…Ozpin…landing strategy….

 _Landing strategy…_

 _ **Landing Strategy!?**_

His blood splotched fist clenched "that son of a bitch"

"What?"

"Nothing" he finally looked to the voice and placed a face to the name "uh…"

Then he suddenly remembered _"the first person whose eyes you meet, you will be partnered with for the next four years."_

"…partner?"

He clearly remembered what he said

The boy nodded a little "looks like it…" he extended his arm.

"Jaune Arc" he clasped the boy's arm.

"Dove Bronzewing"

With that they shook hands.

"Great so where are we going" he said looking around, missing the way how his new partner wiped the blood off his hand with a grimace.

"North, this way" with that Dove lead the way.

The two didn't talk much, Dove was the silent type and Jaune was still a little out of it to start up a conversation. The ache in his head was reduced to a dull throb which was annoying but there was also something else on his mind. Actually several somethings and so many questions which could all be summed up into a single question.

 _What the fuck has he been doing up until now?_

No matter how many times he played it over in his head, it still baffled him about some of the things he's done.

Wearing a onesie?

Flirting with the ice witch?

Fumbling _a sword_?

' _The fuck?'_

He glanced at his weapon.

' _Why the hell did I even bring this thing?'_

Again, the fuck?

' _And to top it all off, I don't have any Aura. I was supposed to have that unlocked before I…left…'_

\

 _ **One Month Ago**_

 _Jaune sighed "she's late" his feet tapped impatiently "come on sis."_

 _In the time he's been waiting he managed to do a few pushups, say the alphabet backwards and play I spy and that was only for the first hour._

 _Seriously what was taking her so long?_

" _Hey mister look out!"_

 _He turned his head just in time to see a ball careening towards his face. Jaune simply held his palm up there was a loud *twack* and it fell to the ground . Jaune kicked it towards the nearest kid who thanked him._

" _Next time pay attention, brats" the last part was muttered._

" _I swear some people just don't pay attention to their environment."_

 _*Smash*_

 _*Thud*_

 _He said two seconds before potted vase fell on top of his head._

\

"Son of a bitch!"

"What's your problem?"

Jaune tensed a little seeing Dove look at him like he was…a guy with a head injury.

"Nothing, nothing. God my head is killing me."

"Then let's get out of here before that wound gets infected"

' _Shit I forgot about that'_ he sighed _'note to self unlock Aura ASAP'_

"Right…" he looked over the relics "chess pieces?"

He turned to Dove but the boy only shrugged.

The symbolism wasn't lost on Jaune and it only cemented the idea Ozpin really was a…

They both turned around when they heard shots fired and saw smoke then a loud screech that sounded surprisingly birdlike.

They looked to each other and Dove spoke "we should probably avoid that"

"Yeah not feeling up for whatever the hell that is" he said and left with his new partner.

The moment they cleared reached the top of the cliffs, they were greeted by the professors Goodwitch and Ozpin who looked apprehensive and smug in that order.

"Congratulations on passing the initiation boys" the man spoke.

' _Whoop de-fucking doo'_

The man sipped his coffee while Glynda spoke tapping her scroll-pad "Mr. Bronzewing take you partner to be treated in the infirmary, I've already uploaded the directions to your scroll."

Jaune gave a groan of approval and his partner nodded.

"Also reconvene in the auditorium by 3:00 PM for your sorting into teams."

"Yes ma'am"

"This head wound worse than I thought" Jaune said blinking blearily at the sky "I swear it looks like someone's riding that Nevermore" shaking his head Jaune trudged away not noticing the three look up with varying degrees of shock and amusement.

\

 _ **Seven Years Ago**_

 _what's wrong?"_

" _I-" at this he realized tears were streaming down and wiped it "nothing"_

 _Her brows furrowed "don't lie to me Jaune, now what's going on? Is it Cielen again?"_

 _He shook his head and her eyes narrowed dangerously "_ _ **Rouge**_ _?"_

 _He shook his head again and she calmed down before kneeling to his level "so what is it?"_

" _..."_

" _Tell me what's up or…"_

" _Dad won't teach me how to be a Huntsman!"_

"… _huh, really?"_

" _Uh-huh"_

" _Hm you know dad's not the only one who could teach you stuff"_

" _You mean mom? I don't think she'd let me"_

 _He missed the eye roll "no I was talking your big sis"_

 _Blue eyes widened in recognition and he stood up "you're right!"_

 _She nodded and stood up-_

" _Big sis Joan could help me"_

 _Then promptly fell on her face._

" _Thanks Amy!"_

" _Jaune I was talking about-"_

\

He woke up to the feeling of someone shaking him awake _'oh looks like someone has a death wish'_

When that someone turns out to be the nurse his irritation became less "what time is it?"

"About 30 minutes until you're supposed to get to the assembly" she answered "your partner asked me to wake you so you wouldn't be late."

' _Oh damn I forgot about that.'_

He swung his feet over the bed and stretched "well thanks-ah dammit!"

"Something wrong?"

"Head still hurts a little"

"That can't be right, your Aura is supposed to heal it hours ago"

"Oh right forgot to mention, Aura yeah don't have that."

"…you don't have Aura?"

"You're the nurse lady, what do you think?"

"I think I should ask why on Remnant someone would apply to Beacon without the _most basic requirement_ of being a Huntsman. How did you make it pass initiation?"

He shrugged "dumb luck?" at her deadpan he frowned "in my defense the reason why I don't have it is because…a dumbass forgot to have it unlocked."

The nurse continued to stare at him and he sighed "any chance you could unlock it for me?"

She raised an eyebrow "why should I do that?"

"Your integrity as a medical practitioner wouldn't allow a student to be harmed because of stupidity?" he said hopefully.

She took a deep breath and chuckled "you know the funny things is I know you're playing me. But you're right, hold still."

Five minutes later Jaune exited the nurse's office feeling like a new man "feels good to be back at 100%" he paused "why do I feel like something's off though?"

He folded his arms to ponder this until his eyes landed on his weapon then his attire in general. He peeled the chest armor a bit to take a peek and swore

"Pumpkin Pete's original, that dumbass. Keep it together Jaune you'll have plenty of time to salvage your reputation and by the end of the day it'll be you, the hoodie, the onesie, a trashcan, some oil and a lighter."

' _That's it Jaune, happy thoughts.'_

He kept his reassurance until he realized he had no idea where he was going.

"Shit"

And his scroll just died.

"Shit-fuck!"

\

"Jaune Arc, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark"

The audience waited as the boys walked up to the stage, well almost all of them. Glynda frowned as she and Ozpin looked over the crowd.

"Would Jaune Arc please come to the stage" Glynda spoke watching over the crowd.

Ruby and Dove in particular looked worried while the rest of the boys on stage looked equal parts confused and a little annoyed at the fourth boy's absence.

"Jaune Arc-"

*Creak*

Usually it would be unnoticeable yet do to the silence caused when the professor spoke everyone heard the unmistakable sound of the door opening and because they were blatantly staring everyone else followed suite to see a familiar blonde haired boy 'sneaking' inside. He was muttering something to himself when he faced the crowd of people staring at him.

"The hell are you idiots looking at?" he spoke bluntly and clearly.

For a moment even the professors were a little surprised at his tone but Glynda being the woman she was regained her composure and addressed him "Mr. Arc!"

"What!?" he snapped glaring at her but then paused upon seeing whom he addressed, though he didn't show the reaction one would get when they found they were addressing the Headmistress, he merely gave an "oh" and began shoving his way to the front.

Once on stage he assumed the same position as the others, while ignoring the audience, the looks he got from the other three boys and the glare from the headmistress.

Ozpin cleared his throat and started "Jaune Arc, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark. You have collected the black Bishop pieces and from now on you will work together as Team Jack-Daniels (JCDL)."

Glynda gave a straight-faced Ozpin the most incredulous look she could give in public. Meanwhile shoulders were shaking on stage as all the boys tried to restrain their mirth mostly because Glynda and Ozpin were right in front of them. The audience however was not restricted by this and more than a few chuckles escaped them.

Nonetheless Ozpin pressed on "and you will be led by Jaune Arc"

' _Naturally.'_

At least one of the four stopped snickering upon that announcement and the audience gave a mandatory applause. Once they left the stage Jaune got a look at his three underlings and thought

' _Pretty one, big dumb strong one and one with freaky powers, wait a minute'_

"Which one of you guys has a Semblance?"

All he got was silent scoff from the big dumb one, a shake of the head from the pretty one and barely raised hand from his partner.

' _Nailed it'_

"Pyrrha Nikos, Russel Thrush, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. The four of you have retrieved the white Rook pieces, from this day forward you will work together as team Porcelain (PRRN) and you will be led by Pyrrha Nikos."

The announcement was followed by mandatory applause, Nora hugged Ren, Russel smiled to his partner and she did the same until her eyes fell to Jaune where it reflected a kind of longing that when he blinked was gone as she averted her eyes.

' _The heck was that all about?'_

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. You have all collected the white Knight pieces and from this day forward you will work together as team Ruby (RWBY) led by Ruby Rose."

As Jaune gave his mandatory applause he couldn't help but notice the parallel to his and Ruby's team reaction. The scathing glare from the princess, the indifference of Blake and the encouragement from Yang. He looked to his team then the newly formed RWBY then back to his team and shook his head.

' _Oh this is going to be fun.'_

\

The newly formed team JCDL _'pfft hah!'_ arrived at their dorm with Jaune leading the way because as much as Winchester thought he was intimidating Jaune just didn't give a damn.

"This is the place" he mumbled bringing up his scroll to unlock the door.

The room was bare except for the carpet, four plain beds and window curtains, all in all, not bad for a room at first glance. His thoughts were interrupted when Cardin shoved his way past almost knocking him over.

' _Oh I can see we're going to be having a problem here.'_

Not even two steps and the tall boy tripped and fell, or he would have if he didn't catch himself on his hand.

' _Nice reflexes'_

"You should watch where you're going Winchester, the carpet's a little lumpy" Jaune said sarcastically while walking past him to the bed closest to the window.

Despite having his back turned Jaune expected retaliation, he figured a guy like Cardin has as much subtlety as bull in a china shop. And boy did he not disappoint as the moment Jaune put his stuff down he was spun around and grabbed by collar.

"Wow you do not waste any time huh?" Cardin cocked his fist back "good so I don't have to waste time beating around the bush"

Before Cardin's fist could make contact he ducked, grabbed the wrist around his collar, twisted it around the boys back while tripping him before finally redirecting his fall to slam his face into the wall hard enough for the larger boy's Aura to flicker visibly.

"You know Winchester I'm happy you're the big dumb strong type, makes this easier and we can avoid any unecessary drama. Now I want you to listen and listen carefully and this goes for the both of you too" he gave his two other shocked teammates a look.

"First of all if any of you happen to see me _before_ initiation you might as well forget about that image you have of me because I am _not_ like _that guy_. With that said I'm actually a good guy but if you piss me off I will retaliate"

His attention went to Cardin when the boy struggled, Jaune twisted his arm some more getting a pained groan from him "ha-haa~ and believe me I can kick your ass Winchester, don't let the size fool you because just like sex it's not the size that counts, it's the skill of how you use the tool and looking at you I can tell you're lacking both so~"

He swung the larger boy away with surprising force where he fell to the bed farthest from his own.

"How about we start with introducing ourselves? I'll start us off, the name's Jaune Arc and I'm about to teach you pecking order."

 _To Be Continued…_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: I believe this is the first story of its kind, I mean Jaune as part of team CRDL? What the hell man!? But seriously I think this one has potential and as for the whole amnesia idea? Funny enough, I got the idea from watch Sword Art Online Abridged, (going to be seeing a lot of references in other stories from that gem). I'm not making Jaune a carbon copy of that abridged Kirito, more like i'm going to be employing the same attitude change, think of him as anti-Jaune.**

 **Big skills, big talk and a massive ego that isn't afraid to put anyone in their place. more development from him in the next continuation.**

 **What do you think about adding a summary at the start of each story? Or would you rather be it a surprise?**


	3. The Odd Couple

**Author's Notes: Happy Crackship Day**

* * *

 **The Odd Couple**

The shower stopped and a man in his mid twenties stepped out and dried himself off before wrapping a towel around his waist. He went to the mirror and wiped the surface to meet sharp blue eyes staring with such intensity you'd think he was a huntsman facing down a horde of Grimm with nothing but his wits and some weird, colorful, transforming weapon and Semblance.

He exhaled deeply "come on Jaune you can do this. It's been a long time coming and you know it! All you have to do is ask and if it doesn't work out then…" he hesitated before sighing "then at least you'll know where you stand."

He gulped and ran a hand through his damp hair before glancing at the time "okay I've still got time" he gulped "no pressure" he offered his reflection a lopsided grin.

\

The place was empty, as to be expected, with the exception of him, though he knew how to remedy that situation. So rolling up his sleeves he preceded to his domain, his lair, his fortress of solitude.

But you can call it the kitchen if you want to be a d*ck about it.

Jaune's kitchen is what someone would call grade A certified but that is to be expected. How could one be the best chef this side of Remnant without having a kitchen to compliment his skills?

Usually he would get to work almost immediately, he was a professional and almost every food critic would say that whatever he touched literally tasted like it was the food of the gods. However he had to consider what to make this time around for today was not just another day. Nodding to himself he acted knowing that the scent would draw in his elusive prey

' _Everyone has to eat'_ he thought.

His assumption was right as not long after he finished the breakfast did he hear the sound of a chair sliding back. He took a peak over his shoulder to behold his 'prey'.

She wore the colors red and black like they were going out of style, her black thigh high boots and short skirt did much to accentuate that small space that showed her creamy thighs.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) that's the only bit of skin to be shown as her entire torso was shrouded by a red girdle belt, black shirt with red sleeves and a set of red gauntlets she currently held.

Raven Branwen surveyed the _feast_ before her with scrutiny – _something was up_.

Her piercing red eyes bore into Jaune's cerulean and he couldn't help but chuckle nervously. Even if he had months to adjust to her, Raven for all intents and purposes was a very intimidating woman. He'd actually seen her make people faint from a glare, not that she was glaring but she was definitely suspicious.

' _Crap'_

Thinking fast he flashed her a smile "good morning Raven"

He had hoped his good natured greeting would alleviate her suspicion but to his dismay he saw her eyes narrow and it might have been his imagination but he could have sworn he saw the edges of her lips twitch upward for a split second.

 _Huh_

"Morning" she droned taking a seat and placing her gauntlets on her lap.

At least she didn't have the mask, that thing gives Jaune the creeps.

\

' _So far so good'_ Jaune thought as they ate in silence.

Jaune could tell she enjoyed the food-why?- simple, she didn't leave a single drop. Despite her reserved attitude she had a rather voracious appetite. She eats more than he does, maybe its a Hunter thing. There has got to be some side effects to having Aura he guessed and his sisters practically inhaled his food.

Hmm, maybe Huntresses are just closet gluttons…

' _Stay focused Jaune'_

Now that she was at her most vulnerable he could spring forward and go in for the attack.

"…"

Any minute now

"…"

Any second now

"…"

' _Come on Jaune! Just ask the damn question and stop being such pus-'_

"Is there something you want to say to me?"

Her voice cut through his thoughts like her weapon through Grimm.

"Uh, n-no, nope! Why would you think that?"

Raven stared for a moment before taking the last bite of her breakfast.

' _Wait when did she eat everything?'_

Not giving him time to contemplate she spoke "is there something you want to tell me?"

"…" he didn't answer leaving her to come to her own conclusion.

"…I'll be gone by this evening"

*Record Scratch*

"WHAT!? WHY!?"

"This is what all this" she gestured of what used to be the breakfast spread "is about isn't it? A farewell feast" she looked down at it "I appreciate the gesture but if you wanted me to leave then all you had to do was say so" Her brow furrowed as she looked at me "at least you made my favorites."

He didn't hear the last "no, that's not it at all!" he shouted in a panic "I don't want you to go!"

"Then why go through all this trouble?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I- I, well I wanted to…. ask…"

He took a breath looked down at his closed fist _'you, are a man'_

"To ask what?"

"I want to ask if you're free this Saturday?"

"…you know I am."

"Yeah, right, of course"

When he didn't answer she stood up _'that was pointless. Let's try this again.'_

"Want to go on a date this Saturday?"

The question gave Raven pause, she blinked, twice before staring blankly at him "what?"

"Date…Saturday…want to go?" he said slowly.

Raven's brow furrowed as she looked down, she opened her mouth but eventually grabbed her gauntlets. Jaune watched as the reserved, very beautiful, very dangerous woman left without so much as a word. It took a moment for the rejection to sink in but once it did

*Thud*

His head hit the table _'smooth Arc, really smooth'_

\

Well aside from his failed attempt at asking the mysterious beauty out and the soul crushing regret afterwards, nothing really happened for Jaune that day. He still had to go to his job and she had to do…whatever she did when he's not around. Raven is like the Vale secret service, everything was on a need to know basis and Jaune has learned not to ask.

He entered the house later that night with a downtrodden expression and decided to act like nothing happened.

' _I just hope she decides to stay'_

Growing affections aside he did enjoy Raven's company, then again he wouldn't be what one would call the social type. Hell it took him weeks to ask her out and now he was just afraid she'll take it the wrong way. Though he wouldn't be surprised if she left at least it would spare him the awkwardness.

To his surprise/dismay she entered the room and sat down before sharing her plate of food. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth Jaune remained silent. The dinner ran its course and neither of them said a single word.

This wasn't right

"Look Raven about what I said this morning-"

"Yes"

"-I just want to say I'm so-wait what?"

He looked at her and she gave him a neutral look though he could see the mirth in her eyes as she replied "date…Saturday…I will go."

"Really?"

The mirth vanished replaced by cold indifference to match her expression "I don't like repeating myself Jaune"

"Uh, right sorry" it was meant to sound remorseful but I just couldn't get that stupid grin off his face.

"Can you clean up?"

"Yeah sure!" he enthusiastically grabbed her empty plate and turned around.

He froze, eyes widened _'hold on'_ he turned around to see the chair empty and faintly hear her door close upstairs.

' _Raven just used my distraction to pawn off the dirty dishes on me'_

That sneaky little minx

\The next day\

Okay so now that he'd gotten the hard part out of the way, the easy part should be actually planning the date.

Except he had a problem

What problem would that be?

He knew ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT HER!

They've been living together for months now but they or rather _he_ knew nothing about her. Raven was a very guarded person of few words. Not that he hadn't tried but it's just that…well…she intimidates him.

Though in his defense she did threaten to kill him once..twice…a bunch of times when they were still getting to know each other as roommates.

Roommates might be a bit of a stretch, he would call it _forced cohabitation_ back then.

But now they were cool and were going to be dating. So it should be alright if he asked right?

"Right" he nodded to himself and went to find Raven, not really hard all he had to do was find the sound of scraping blade.

*SHIIING*

Like that

*SHIIIING*

The sound led him outside where Raven was meticulously cleaning her outrageously long katana. Seriously, how could a sword be longer than it's sheathe yet still fit in perfectly?

*SHIIIING*

"Hey Raven" he greeted nervously.

*SHIIIING*

Her eyes shifted to him for a split second before settling on the blade. Jaune understood he didn't want to disrupt her cult-like ritual-er _weapon_ _maintenance_ so he got straight to the point.

*SHIIIING*

"So about the date"

*SHII-*

Jaune winced as her crimson orbs looked to him _'did it suddenly get warmer out here?'_

"What about it?" He could see her grip tighten slightly on the sword handle.

Jaune gulped "I-I was just wondering what you'd l-like to do?"

Immediately the slight tension dissipated from her "oh" there was a long pause as she seemed mull over his words.

Jaune scratched behind his head

Eventually Raven spoke and said the two words he was dreading she would say "surprise me"

\

Whelp that could have gone better.

' _Seriously Raven throw a guy a bone here'_

Since the elusive Branwen just threw him under the proverbial bus, it was up to Jaune to use his (nonexistent) detective skills to determine what a woman like her would want to do on a date.

"Okay Jaune let's not panic, first what do you know about Raven so far. After all just because you don't know anything intimate doesn't mean you don't know _anything_." He reasoned aloud.

Alright aside from being beautiful, reserved, intimidating, powerful, has a slavish devotion to her weapon and has a weird taste in fashion.

Freaking mask…

What else, she also has a pension for mischief that she rarely shows. She likes dirty jokes, although it only happens once every full moon Jaune could tell she enjoyed those particular jokes.

She almost laughed once….almost.

She's also used to roughing it. In fact she spends most of her time outside doing Oum knows what and even when she's at home she usually spends it outside in the backyard.

She doesn't sleep on her bed, preferring a futon.

For some reason she avoids public gatherings, he's invited her to parties before (as a friend) and she flat out rejected the offer, every time.

She's very Spartan, no decorations in her rooms, no makeup (not that she needed it), no casual wear, only her sleeping wear and Huntress gear.

She is also mature, like very mature and probably older. Jaune himself is just 24 years old but Raven seems, or at most acts older. Sometime she would have this amused look in her eye when she looks at him. It reminded him of his mother actually, but that couldn't be right, Raven looks nothing like his mother age.

' _She looks 30, 35 tops'_

Jaune wasn't dumb enough to actually ask her real age on account of he's seen what she could do with that sword.

"Okay so with all that, how do I possibly create the perfect dating experience?"

….

A sigh escaped his lips "I need some air"

\

Jaune found himself wandering the forests. Jaune lived outside the Kingdoms, it wasn't always like this but after all that drama back in Vale and there almost being _another_ war among the Kingdoms and something involving a Grimm Queen and Remnant almost being destroyed…yeah he decided living in an isolated, well protected village with its own small Hunter academy was the best call.

That was two years ago and he's not planning on going back anytime soon.

Usually there would Grimm to worry about but for some reason after…whatever happened in Vale, there has been a sharp decrease in Grimm activity.

Plus with Raven there, he's positive he'd be alright and if not…he's got good cardio.

"Agh, I'm getting distracted!" he grabbed his head "now come on Arc what could Raven possibly like for a date?" he looked up "I don't know if you're out there, or if you're real but you think you can help a guy out with his first date with a beauty?"

….

….

"No?"

….

"Oh great now I'm talking to the sky"

Suddenly a cloud drifted to block the sunlight but only partially, the rest of the light ended up….well up. Jaune's vision interchanged from _it_ to the sky several times before shrugging-

' _Who am I to question divine intervention?'_

 _30 minutes later_

*Pant* *Pant*

Jaune laid on the grass staring at the sky

"Why…why did it have to…. be so high?"

….

"Oh fine" he rolled on his elbows "let's see what this thing is you…."

He had to shut himself up at the sight, any doubt evaporated once he saw _the view_.

"Oh" a wide smile formed "this could work actually."

\

On the day of the date Jaune dressed casually and had a picnic basket, a large picnic basket that was more like dumbbells than a basket.

' _I think I went overboard with the food'_

Raven walked into the room wearing….what she always wore minus the gauntlets and that freaking mask.

Come to think of it he's never seen her in anything other than that.

' _Does she have any other clothes?'_

As he wondered, he never caught the woman in question glancing at the basket and came to a conclusion "a picnic?"

Jaune blinked and smiled awkwardly "yeah, I know, cliché but you seem like a person who prefers the great outdoors to fancy restaurants, or stuff like that" he chuckled "sorry if you were expecting more."

"Its fine" she offered him a small smile.

Jaune couldn't help but smile back "alright lets go" they headed outside and Jaune finally noticed something "y-you're carrying your sword" he commented.

"Yes, I am"

"I already check, there's no Grimm out there"

"Just be greateful I didn't bring the mask"

*Shudder* "Point taken"

' _Freaking mask'_

A few minutes later they were finally just a few feet away from their destination, a good thing too, the basket was starting to strain his arms. He turned to Raven to see she was smiling-no wait not _smiling_ but definitely an expression that said she was pleased so far.

Good, at least he's starting on a high note.

"Raven?"

The not-smile left her face and her gaze shifted to the young man beside her, he had stopped.

"Why did you stop?" she questioned.

"Well~" he pointed up.

Raven followed to look at the small hill they were now before " _oh."_

"Do you think you could open a portal to the top so I can go up there?"

Raven raised an eyebrow but gave a slow nod. Looking at the top of the hill she did a quick-draw slash to open a swirling red and black portal. Above the hill she could see another portal open at the same time, just as she intended.

She went to step through but was held back by a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry Raven but can you stay down here?"

Her brows furrowed "why?"

"I wanna set this up" he held up the basket "so it'll be perfect"

Raven took a moment to size him up before she acquiesced to his decision and allowed him to go in.

"Thanks, you won't regret it" he stepped through the portal and closed it.

Raven stood there with arms folded, waiting for some kind of signal and contemplated her current situation. The Huntress won't lie, she would admit to being curious about what a man like him could possibly do for a date.

A date.

She scoffed why of all the things she could be doing she never imagined herself having a date with a boy literally young enough to be her son. There's actually a word to describe someone like her but what was it again?

' _A tigress? No, a Lioness? No that's not it either. Ah cougar'_

"OKAY, YOU CAN COME UP NOW!"

Raven stepped through another portal expecting a generic picnic spread. She got that and more. Although she spent a lot of time in the wilderness she never stopped to 'smell the roses' as the saying went. She was never really sentimental but right now at this moment with Jaune standing their expectantly over a spread of what she was sure is the most delicious food she'd ever tasted.

Then there was that _magnificent_ view.

It was perfect at least it seemed so to her.

*Click*

Her gaze snapped down to see Jaune..with his scroll out. Her eyes narrowed dangerously but before she could administer his punishment he spoke.

"So~ what do you think?" his voice cut through.

She opened her mouth to say something yet couldn't, the look on his face made her tongue tied, it almost always did. So keeping her composure she simply smiled, it was a simple one but it was enough.

She coughed in her fist "it is…acceptable"

If she said that to someone else then they would have taken it the wrong way but considering this is his first date with an older beauty she might as well told him he won the lottery.

"Thanks" he scratched the back of his head, nervous and excited at the same time.

Raven nodded and went to sit across from him, the view was now clear for them to both enjoy while they began eating.

"Nice huh?" Jaune began getting her attention "I thought you'd like it"

"How did you find this place?"

He looked to her before his head turned to Sun just getting ready to set before looking up "would you believe me if I said it was a sign from the heavens?"

Raven raised an eyebrow "no" she said flatly.

"No I'm serious" he chuckled "I was trying to figure out what you'd like to do then I begged the heavens and they showed me this place"

"That seems highly unlikely"

He shrugged and took a bite from a roll "it's what happened" he swallowed "then again it might have been my imagination. Come to think of it the water tasted kinda funny" he said half seriously.

Raven seriously contemplated this for a moment before her gaze met his and she could feel the mirth wafting off of him "you were making a joke" she stated.

"Hahahaha. I'm sorry but you really take things too seriously"

Raven huffed, averted her gaze and gave the closest thing to a pout a hardened Huntress could before sipping her drink.

"It might explain why you agreed to this date though" he said in jest.

Raven paused for only a second, still drinking. She could spot an attempt at gathering information a mile away. The fact that he led to that was rather impressive

' _Well played Jaune'_ she mentally commended _'but you'll have to do better than that'_

"Maybe" she said casually.

From her peripheral she could see his mirth waver so she continued "I was feeling a little disoriented when I came back that night"

Okay now she could see the worry "r-really?" she could hear it too.

Raven faced him and a smirk slowly drew across her lips.

"You" he pointed at her "you were being sarcastic"

"Maybe, maybe not" she said vaguely, the smirk still in place.

Jaune stared for a moment before laughing "so you _do_ have a sense of humor!" he said in an overly dramatic fashion.

Raven snorted but said nothing and Jaune eventually calmed down "thank you"

She eyed him quizzically

"For agreeing to come on this date"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, this doesn't mean we're a thing"

He held his hand up "I wasn't insinuating I just-" he sighed "sorry if being out here with this great view, awesome food and a beautiful, deadly older woman makes me happy."

Raven did not blush, in fact she didn't outwardly react and instead looked him straight in the eye. Jaune for once did not falter, if she was looking for some weakness in his words he wouldn't dare give her any misconceptions about his feelings which- lets face it- he made known the moment he asked her on a date.

Surprisingly it was Raven who averted her gaze and chew on a piece of meat "deadly huh?" her hair blocked her face so he couldn't see her expression.

"Well I would've said skilled" he admitted "but I'm pretty sure you're the best swordswoman on Remnant right now-"

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me Jaune Arc" her face was still obscured in fact Jaune was certain she was deliberately not showing her face to him.

' _Is she being shy?'_

Raven? Shy?

The concept seemed so foreign to him but for some reason Jaune felt a surge of confidence swell "maybe you should tell me what will get me somewhere with you"

*SHING*

Before Jaune could blink he felt cold steel pressed against his neck. He stared into the cold, hardened crimson orbs of Raven Branwen who had a scowl adorned on her features.

"Don't fuck with me Jaune" her tone dripped with venom.

"Wha-"

"If you think just because I've spent a few months at your house I won't cut you down you're mistaken"

Jaune gulped, this situation he's been in before but he really thought they had gotten past all that. He opened his mouth to try and say something but looking into her blood red eyes his voice hitched. He could hear his heart thump and he was pretty sure they sword was drawing blood.

Then a thought occurred _'why is she doing this? She knows what kind of person I am so…'_ he trailed off.

Then he had an epiphany and suddenly he smiled which managed to get a brief, very brief astonished look from the ebony haired Huntress.

"I was telling the truth"

"…what"

"All that stuff before. I'm not just spouting some pickup lines from a magazine I bought while passing the pharmacy three years ago after I was invited to go to a party by my colleagues in Mistral."

There was a pause as Raven's brow rose "..that's…oddly specific."

"Look the point is" he began dismissively "I'm not some kind of womanizer, gigolo or whatever alright. I don't string women along and I sure as hell don't have the tact for manipulations or long term planning when it comes to relationships. The only thing I can do is put myself out there giving the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and hope for the best."

His eyes became downcast, almost sad "I'm sorry but this is me, Jaune Arc nothing more nothing less. So if, you know, you _don't_ like what you see then you're free to go back home. I won't hold it against you and I'll try to forget this ever happened and hopefully if you still want to stay then it'll become less awkward and things can go back to normal."

Raven's expression didn't falter although her gaze lost some of its coldness. Eventually the Huntress stood and without a word opened a portal and disappeared inside.

"Looks like I got my answer" he muttered and plopped on his back.

' _Another one bites the dust'_ he frowned before turning to the picnic, most of it was eaten but there was some still left _'looks like I'm having leftovers tonight. Doubt she'll want anything'_

Before he got to packing Jaune allowed himself a moment to collect himself from the latest heartbreak. He closed his eyes for should have been a few minutes when he heard the familiar sound of a portal open

His eyes opened and he sat up to see Raven standing before him with a small white box in hand "Raven"

The woman knelt before him and put down her weapon "yes, hold still" she opened the box which turned out to be a first aid kit.

"What are you-"

She turned his head up and used the cotton swab to soak up the blood from the cut. Next she used alcohol to disinfect it. Jaune winced but otherwise did nothing and allowed Raven to but a band-aid on it.

Afterwards she faced away to repack what was left of the kit while Jaune spoke "I thought you weren't coming back"

"Don't be an idiot"

Jaune blinked, he could swear he envisioned her rolling her eyes.

"I simply went back so I could properly fix a mistake on my part"

"Mistake?"

He heard her sigh and turn around "I..overreacted to your earlier advances"

"Oh? _Oooh~_ that?" she nodded and he waved her off with a chuckle "ah don't worry that wasn't anythi-"

"I don't think you understand Jaune" she sat cross-legged before him "my blade was directly at your jugular, if I'd even so much as flicked my wrist it would have severed and you would have slowly bled out and die"

Jaune stared into her eyes for a full minute before he spoke again "but I didn't die" he argued "because you weren't planning-"

"I was" she interrupted "I was _really_ contemplating ending your life right then and there. It was only because of your words did I not do it."

"Oh" he paused for another full minute before coughing in his fist "well this is awkward" he gave a lopsided grin.

"You're taking the fact I almost killed you well" she deadpanned.

Jaune shrugged "hey, what matters is you didn't. I'm still here, you're not mad and I'm sure we can work through any problems together" he stopped himself and hesitantly spoke "are we together?"

Raven closed her eyes with a sigh "you aren't going to let this go without an answer are you?"

"Well half the reason for this date was because of it so~"

Raven huffed "fine then" she held the blade horizontally across her legs "Jaune I don't… _hate_ you. You are…. the first person I can tolerate outside my family being near for a long period of time since…..since I was a teenager." She paused as if remembering those times.

"Raven-"

"I'm not done yet" she snapped lightly "your attempts at being funny and getting me to open up reminded me of someone I used to know. I'm not ashamed to admit that I find that quality endearing" she paused "I'm also not ashamed to admit I may have become addicted to your cooking."

The smile on Jaune's face would have been enough to be mistaken for a 100 watt bulb "Raven-"

" _I'm not finished_ " she growled

"Sorry"

Raven gave a short breath and closed her eyes, it was like she was "I guess what I'm trying to say is…" she hesitated and Jaune leaned forward

' _Come on the suspense is killing me!'_ he leaned forward.

"Yes.. I will consider a relationship with you" she said with a poised look.

There was a sharp intake of air as Jaune's smile threatened to break his face. Raven gave him a murderous glare but it seemed it was nigh ineffective to quell mount Jaune.

 _Jaune jumped to his feet kicked his feet together and spread his arms out at the edge of the cliff "YEAH, YES YOU HEAR THAT WORLD? RAVEN BRANWEN IS MY GIRLFRIEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNND!"_

"Thank you" he said with a smile.

Raven blinked, okay she was expecting….more than that since she had just admit to wanting to _consider_ being in a relationship with him.

Jaune was relatively calm on the outside but on the inside

' _Ce~lebrate good times, come on! Ce~lebrate good times, come on!-'_

"I'm just going to take this opportunity to thank the heavens-"

"What?"

Jaune looked to the sky "I had my doubts you were real-"

"You can't be serious"

"-but you came through in the end-"

"…you are"

"-and now I can say without a doubt that thanks to you Jaune Arc is A WINNER!"

*SQUAWK*

Both heads turned to see a giant Nevermore rising from the forest, its gaze fixed upon the blonde who dared disturb its slumber. With another squawk it took flight towards them.

There was an awkward moment of silence "uh..oops?"

Raven sighed standing up "you stay here and pack I'll take care of this" he took a step forward but turned around "unless you want to ask the heavens to help you kill it… _winner_.

Jaune shook his head "no thanks, I'm good besides" he smirked "I like watching you work"

Raven gave him a hard glare which caused his smirk to drop "sorry"

She sighed and turned around "I'll let that one slide but only because I have something to take my anger out on" she then disappeared in a red portal.

"…I still like watching you work" he muttered.

\

They returned later that night Jaune ended up eating the rest of the food as he watching his new girlfriend drag out the fight with the Nevermore to attract more Grimm. Which worked..a little too well.

"So, um" he hesitated

"Today wasn't so bad" she started.

"Yeah, so I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I guess so" she answered

' _Aw what the hell'_ throwing caution (and possibly his life) to the wind he swooped in and gave Raven a peck on the cheek.

Raven blinked and touched her cheek before scowling at him.

She grabbed him by the collar "uh Oum I'm sorry please don't kill mHMMPH!?"

Jaune didn't get to finish his apology as Raven smashed their lips together so hard it was almost painful. In what is in Jaune's opinion a passionate kiss that lasted ten full seconds..he counted. He moaned into it with his eyes closed but fluttered open to peer into Raven's unwavering crimson orbs.

After it was over Jaune's legs felt wobbly "w-what was _that_ for?"

"We're not teenagers in school anymore Jaune" she turned her back to him and began walking away "so if you're going to kiss me, at least do it right" with that she went to her room.

Jaune touched his lips and looked to the sky _'thank you'_

Yep, this is the beginning of a (hopefully) long lasting relationship.

' _I still can't believe she said yes'_

\

 **The Next Morning**

' _Strange'_ Raven thought.

She didn't know what was odder, the fact that she, Raven Branwen had been on a date with Jaune Arc or the fact that she found the experience, actually not that bad. The fact that she would entertain the idea let alone agree to it is a mystery. She knew if it were a few months ago she wouldn't have agreed to it yet she did.

' _Things change'_ she looked to the ceiling.

How many years has it been since she left _him_ , since her friend died and she wrought with grief carved a path of carnage through the criminal underworld looking for anyone responsible.

 _24 years_

Yet all of it was for nothing, she wasn't able to prevent her tribe and friend from being killed nor was she strong enough to avenge them. In the end her friend's daughter along with her own and the rest of their team did what she couldn't.

' _Yang'_

At the thought of her blonde haired progeny she felt a twist in her gut. The meeting with her daughter in the aftermath had not been a pleasant one, not that she expected any less. She wasn't naïve enough to believe she would be forgiven nor was she asking for it.

It didn't matter to Raven though, her friend's killer was gone, the source of the Grimm had been vanquished and Remnant is on a slow road to recovery. But just because the source was gone didn't mean that it was over. The Grimm were no longer infinite but they were still many in numbers.

There was nothing to worry about though, it was only a matter of time before they were extinct and it was all thanks to Summer's little girl and her friends.

' _It seems that your legacy will live through the ages old friend'_ she smiled.

The smile faded just as quickly as she returned to her first dilemma, Jaune Arc. Or since recently her…. _Boyfriend_.

Damn it felt weird hearing that.

She was literally too old to be in a relationship, that ship was supposed to have sailed years ago and she….was supposed to be dead. At least that's how she had pictured it in the end but that obviously didn't happen.

Now here she was, practically freeloading off a boy whom she may have given the impression of having a romantic interest in. Truth be told she wasn't in love with him but she didn't hate or dislike him either so it would be prudent for them to be friends if anything else.

She sat up _'that's it, I just have to clarify things to him'_

She frowned at this thought, is that really the wisest course of action? Yes but in all honesty his attempts at 'wooing' her was endearing enough to actually impress her. So much so that she rewarded him with that kiss.

She mentally chastised herself for that, as if telling him she wished for their relationship to stay as it had been until three days ago, she had gone and did that. She got up wearing a short black tights and a red tank top.

' _His reaction was amusing though'_ she thought with a smirk before heading to the bathroom.

\

It was early in the morning, the sun had barely risen, she had about two more hours until he woke up so she, like always, started her morning exercise routine. It was something ingrained in her from her years travelling around Remnant and even though her wanderlust had been sated she couldn't bring herself to stop.

Actually now that she had effectively 'rooted' herself to a suburban household, she had upped the ante on her routine since she wasn't in the wilds where the Grimm were unpredictable and numerous. Well she did with her first few weeks here but she had quelled her paranoia when she killed the Grimm surrounding the area along with some of the Hunters of the town.

After an hour of physical exercise she went on to sword practice. She swung the crimson blade, going through the motions with practiced ease. A leaf falls and her hand blurs before the blade is almost in its sheath the leaf splits into bits. Raven frowns at this, usually she would have the sword sheathed before the leaf falls apart.

' _I'm getting slow.'_

It wasn't by much but she was getting slow, whether it's by age or lack of use in a real fight. Either way she didn't like it, she didn't like it one bit. This sparked another realization, with peace on its way there was a high possibility of her growing old. She didn't like the visual of her at an old age, all grey and wrinkled.

What she hated most about growing old is how useless she would become. She absolutely hated weakness, in others but most of all in herself. She would rather die by her most hated enemy's hands rather than lying on her deathbed. She was a warrior for Oum sakes! Give her a glorious death on the battlefield.

' _At least I wouldn't be alone.'_

She stopped mid swing- _where did that come from?_

No it couldn't be. Her, Raven Branwen, was afraid…of dying alone?

Preposterous.

She sheathed her blade and looked to the sky.

Humans have a tendency to seek out companionship whether in the form of family, friends or even comrades or underlings. In that sense no one can live alone for long…not without losing their mind or having a distraction. For her it had been leading her tribe and before that being with her teammates…former teammates.

Raven other family were estranged at best, she left her significant other, her daughter was lost to her and her relationship with her brother was….irreparable. Even though they kept in contact it was because their goals coincided but now they had no reason to talk to each other now.

She had no friends, her only friend died and she had no interest at the time or presently to repeat that mistake. She had some contacts but those were effectively severed after the climactic battle. There was no reason to keep them anyway.

She had no one….no one except…*sniff* *sniff*

' _Speak of the devil'_

Had it been two hours already? She had been so caught up in her thoughts she lost track of time. Raven shook her head and opened a portal into the bathroom to shower and change into her usual outfit. She did something different though and while she put on her skirt she looked at herself in the mirror.

Despite her age she looked young, felt young _'is that why he likes me?'_

Doubtful, for all of his faults Jaune isn't the superficial type and considering the fact she threatened his life on multiple occasions, it just didn't seem worth it. So either Jaune sees something in her that she apparently doesn't…. or he's a masochist.

She was leaning more to the second option every time she thought about it. She didn't have any interest in relationships before and aside from her physical appearance she didn't have any.. _qualities_ that would attract someone like Jaune. After all, she was a beauty, that she was aware of, she was also a very skilled Huntress, intelligent and resourceful so that's a plus.

However all those qualities were overshadowed by her reserved nature, temper, attitude and darker outlook. She wasn't an easy woman to anger but when she got angry, not even Yang's so called explosive temper could compare. She also had a low tolerance for weakness, very blunt honesty and a willingness to kill that is not to be taken lightly.

Every single death threat she made is not really a threat but a promise.

Raven picked up her mask but didn't put it on, only stared at the face "what does he see in me?"

*Blink*

' _How long have I been agonizing over that question? Who cares what he thinks about me?'_ she scowled.

Yet no matter how much she tried to sweep it under the rug like so many other things, that one question though was gnawing at her. For some reason she just couldn't let it go.

"I suppose I'll just have to get the answer from him instead."

That should be easy.

\

Raven followed the delicious scent down to the table and as always the breakfast was there, ready and looking very delicious. Jaune was already eating but the moment he saw her, a smile formed.

"Good morning."

Raven kept her face impassive as she greeted him back "morning" it's best not to give anything away.

"You know if you were any later I'd think you overslept or something."

Raven frowned somewhat "I don't oversleep."

"Maybe you should" he countered "you always look tense" he seemed to think about something "if you want I could give you a back massage."

Raven gave him the blankest stare devoid of any emotions "…what?"

"You know, a back massage" he seemed to catch on to how she was looking at him and cough "I meant to alleviate tension an-and stress! And totally not anything else!"

Raven narrowed her eyes dangerously "I swear I didn't mean anything by it, I have experience in being a masseuse and people say I'm good and…..I'll just stop talking now" he muttered getting back to his breakfast.

' _That was…amusing'_ Raven thought.

It's amazing what a few facial expressions could do to evoke a response from someone. And Jaune's response was always amusing to say the least. So much so that she could have laughed but utterly refuse to. As amusing as this morning's 'small talk' was and how delicious this breakfast is Raven needed to get to the meat of the matt-

"I have to go" crimson orbs blinked "I'm opening the restaurant today so" he looked to her "I'll see you later" he smiled before leaving but paused.

Blue orbs turned to meet crimson with a pensive expression but before she could enquire what he wanted he shook his head and left.

"See you later Raven."

' _What was that about?'_

\

Raven had been walking through the forest surrounding the settlement for a few minutes now and her thoughts went back to Jaune. Before he left he seemed to want to tell her something. It was then Raven realized she didn't get the chance to clarify what she would like the nature of their relationship to be.

 _Damn._

How was she not able to tell him?

She shook her head, it didn't really matter, she could tell him later tonight. For now she had a meeting to attend to. Speaking of, there's her client right now.

The Goliath snorted as it trudged along, seeming to not have noticed her presence, good. Goliath's are tough to kill but not impossible for a lone Huntress as long as she has the right knowledge, weapon, Semblance and skill level. With that thought Raven opened a portal with a flick of her sword and jumped through.

The hunt was on.

 **One Bloody Battle later…**

Raven stood atop the fading corpse of the colossal Grimm. That battle had taken the better part of twenty minutes and cost her almost half her Aura, and about a quarter of the collective Dust in her sheathe.

She was definitely getting old and the fact that she was winded only seemed to prove that hypothesis. She took off her mask and dragged a hand over her face through her hair. It really shouldn't be bothering her this much, getting old. It is part of the natural cycle of life but it was and Raven was uncomfortable as all hell with it.

Raven's wistful gaze sharpened as she gave a side glance to the approaching Ursa. There were more coming and Raven was more than willing to vent her frustrations on them. Before the huge Grimm even knew what was going on its head fell to the floor.

Raven stood behind it sheathing her sword

' _It's funny'_ she thought vertically cutting a rolling Boarbatusk effortlessly.

' _They know their days are numbered'_

A pack Beowolves circled her standing form warily.

' _Yet, they can't fight their instincts'_

The chambers spun coating her blade in white (wind) Dust.

' _They are attracted to the negativity'_

She did a whirl of rapid on-the-spot slashes in a quickdraw stance, the grass below flattened as a gust of wind blew all around her. She ended it with the tip of her blade at the opening of her sheathe and slowly placed it in.

' _ **My**_ _negativity'_

Around her the Beowolves remained perfectly still.

' _Like moths to the flame'_

*Click*

The moment her blade fully set in the Beowolves fell apart in chunks.

Raven straightened with a sigh, there was always something therapeutic about killing Grimm. No she enjoyed using her sword on anything really, Grimm, criminals, Hunters, it's all the same. Killing Grimm though was different from killing some low life. Maybe it's the fact that nothing bad can come from it, maybe she feels less tainted killing monsters than people.

Raven didn't really know, nor does she care enough to dwell on this.

She could only move further into the thick of it, losing herself in the rush.

Maybe, just maybe, it'll be enough to distract herself from unnecessary thoughts.

\

Raven stepped into her room through a portal and immediately she could smell what Jaune was cooking. For a time she just stood there doing nothing before with a heavy sigh started to disrobe. Her combat attire was a mess with smudges, grass stains and sweat.

While she took off her sash she checked the amount of Dust in her sheathe and frowned. She went in the closet to pull out a suitcase. Inside were all near empty bottles of Dust. Seeing this made her brows furrowed.

' _I need to replenish my Dust supplies soon'_ with that the suitcase snapped shut.

Around twenty minutes later she arrived downstairs clad in a red tank top and a black track pants with red lines running down the sides. Jaune was sharing out the food and immediately she could tell something was off.

He gave her a glance and smiled, though it was obviously forced somewhat "hey Raven."

She gave a nod as a reply but he had already averted his gaze, her eyes narrowed somewhat.

"Just give me a sec."

The dinner was superb as always but even that was drowned out by the uncomfortable silence in the room. Not that she didn't appreciate the silence but it came off as awkward, especially since he wouldn't make direct eye contact with her. His expression was set in a pensive frown and it made Raven curious as to what he's thinking about.

Raven didn't attempt to do any small talk and instead let the silence run its course giving him enough time to think about whatever it is he's thinking. That silence lasted until the end of dinner when Raven was about to ready to leave.

"Hey Raven can you help me with the dishes?"

She looked at Jaune but he had his back turned and was already on his way to the sink. Raven silently took the rest of the plates over to him.

Without taking his eyes off the plates he spoke "I'll wash and rinse, you dry and stack."

She didn't give a reply only stood to his left with a towel and ready to receive. By the second plate Raven decided to address the elephant in the room.

"Jaune-"

"You're having second thoughts about this right?" he questioned.

She was honestly surprised he guessed that. He surprised her again by giving her a sideways smile that seemed equal parts sad as it is apologetic.

"It was just a guess, an obvious one actually, but I guess it's true" Jaune handed her another plate.

Raven took it with a sigh "I apolo-"

"No, nope!" he interrupted "you don't owe me an apology Raven. So you're not interested" he shrugged "so what? Actually it'd be miracle if you were interested in a guy like me being the woman you are."

Raven paused at this before taking a pan ' _a woman like me?'_

Shaking that from her thoughts "but the kiss"

He waved her off with a glove covered hand "ah, it was an impulsive decision. I know a thing or two about impulsive decisions"

"Like asking me out on a date?" she tried to joke…poorly.

Jaune didn't find any humor in that and stayed silent for a few moments longer than necessary.

"Yeah well" he finished up the dishes and took his gloves off "I guess some things weren't meant to happen" he shrugged again "I'll see you tomorrow I guess" he said awkwardly as she put away the last dry plate.

"I guess" she repeated looking at him appraisingly.

"Look Raven I'm hoping we can put this behind us and still be friends" he proposed "so let's just pretend the last two days never happened."

"I would…like that" that came out more forced than she was comfortable with.

"Great" he smiled "well goodnight Raven."

The Huntress watched his retreating figure go up the stairs and gave a weak "goodnight" though he was long gone.

\

Raven laid on the futon with a displeased look on her face _'this is what I wanted, right?'_

Exactly, or it should be but what would be the point of being in a relationship at this stage of her life, being the woman that she is.

" _-being the woman that you are."_

Those words came to mind, then it dawned on her _'he knew exactly what he was getting into when he asked.'_

It was one of the many things she overlooked upon getting to know the man known as Jaune Arc. Behind the goofy smiles, bouts of awkwardness and sometimes skittishness usually found in a teenager that he is actually a man, an adult, not some man-child.

' _Maybe I misjudged him.'_

That still doesn't change the fact that she's not interested in a relationship or rather she _can't_ be in a relationship. The only other relationship she has ever been in failed spectacularly and she wouldn't really call that a relationship, more like a convenient excuse to get hitched.

And there was no way Raven would ever let something like that happen to her, though the circumstances now and then are infinitely different. In fact the only thing those two have in common is that they are chiseled, blonde and easy on the eyes.

"Ugh"

Did she really just think of Jaune in that context? Where the hell did that come from?

Shaking her head she turned to her side feeling one of her beaded necklaces. They say that in order for a relationship to even attempt to work one should take a leap of faith. Jaune did that just by asking yet she's not willing to do it.

Did that make her a coward?

Heh, for someone who didn't fear death, it's ironic she would be a coward to the matters of the heart. Or maybe that's just it, she's imagined herself dying, probably alone that she's learned to live with that knowledge. Now things have changed, she's alive, the world is recovering and she's..

She's still the same or she's still trying to be.

Driven by her instincts like a moth to the flame.

Does it have to be that way though, she doesn't _have_ to die like that, not so soon, not fighting and not alone.

She sighed "this is harder than I thought"

Her eyes drifted to the clock and saw that 2 hours have passed. 2 hours of her thinking over the proposal of being in a relationship. Then it dawned on her that she was actually thinking about it, that alone is proof that she is changing.

She sat up _'maybe it's worth a shot'_

And if it doesn't work out…

She stood up now _'I'll cross that bridge when I reach it'_

\

Jaune was jolted awake by the knocking or rather banging on his door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he said groggily.

Jaune opened the door rubbing his eyes, then again upon realizing who was at the door "Raven?"

Raven stayed silent, giving him a once over "what are you wearing?"

Jaune looked down at his blue onesie with matching bunny slippers "my pajamas"

"I can see that" she replied dryly "I mean why are you, a 25 year old man, wearing a child's sleeping wear?"

Jaune sighed "it's a gift from my little sister and we were on a video chat. By the time we finished I was too tired to change" he explained "plus it's actually warm and comfortable" he added.

Raven could only stare blankly at him "I see…"

"What are you doing out here? Is something wrong?"

"No nothing is wrong I-" she looked over his attire then pinch the bridge of her nose while closing her eyes "I can't speak to you like this. Go change so that it feels like I'm talking to a competent adult and not some immature man-child."

"Uh sure" the door closed.

While Jaune redressed Raven tried to purge the image of him wearing onesie from her mind.

' _Well he's certainly not trying to make my decision in his favor'_

The door opened and Jaune came out in black boxers and a white t-shirt that was tight around his abdominals. Raven instantly forgot about the onesie as she gave him a once over, she always knew Jaune wasn't as scrawny as some of his clothes let on but who would have thought he actually had muscles?

Either way this made her decision much easier.

"Is this alright?"

"Hmm?" her eyes finally lifted to his face to see an amused smirk.

She had been caught, damn.

"Yes this way I can speak to you while preserving my respect towards you."

"So what's going on" his arms folded, showing his impressive biceps.

Raven ignored the visual to speak "I have given it more thought and I am willing to give this" she gestured to both of them " _us_ a try."

Jaune's smile could have replaced a 100 watt bulb at that moment "really!?"

She nodded "yes" her eyes narrowed "keep in mind, my earlier threats are still valid. Break my heart and I break you."

"Okay" he said a little fearfully, Raven has that effect on people sometimes "are you sure about this though"

She took a step forward "I am"

"You're certain? I'm not like going to wake up tomorrow and you'll dump me…again?"

Another step forward and she was in his personal space "I am sure Jaune"

"Oh, okay" he nodded now painfully aware she is very close and her lips looked so inviting but still "are you absolutely, positively-"

"Jaune" she interrupted

"Yes Raven?"

She grabbed two fistful of his shirt to drag him down "shut up and kiss me" she ordered.

Jaune smiled "yes ma'am."

Their lips locked in a hungry almost forceful way that was at the same time warm, comforting and sent lightning through their entire being. Jaune wrapped his arms around her waist and her arms round his neck. They parted

"We really do make an odd couple"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: OOOOOOHHHHHBAMA.**

 **I would like to give a shout out to 'Jaune Uchiha' for urging me and BlackLight181 for giving me an idea to work with. Jaune Uchiha brought to my attention how there is a severe shortage of Raven x Jaune stories and since he likes my work I decided to do him a solid and write one. Personally Jaune x Raven is like my third favorite crack pairing behind Cinder x Jaune and Neo x Jaune and Winter x Jaune but there's a whole bunch of those already.**

 **Okay so to clear up a few things, this is an aftermath AU where all the fighting is done, Salem is defeated RWBY wins yadda, yadda, yadda. Also Jaune never went to Beacon, obviously and so doesn't know anything about Raven. I took a book from LaughingLefou and made him into a chef, I would have gone with bartender but a chef fit his role in the story better.**

 **I definitely** _ **plan**_ **to make this something of a drabble series but thought a debut here on this day would be better. I thought about making this a crackship week but unlike certain other authors I can't push out chapters like newspaper editions so this will have to do for now.**

 **And that's all I have to say on this note, though if I make enough chapters I could make this a full story but so far I only have one other chapter and it's still in the works so…have a nice day.**


	4. Ghoul

**Ghoul**

He's been on the road for months now as Ozpin's errand boy and no matter what amount of importance placed on his jobs or whatever fancy words you could use to describe his job in the end it all boiled down to being an errand boy. He goes wherever he dictates, investigate whatever object or person of interest he s to and generally acts in the best interest of the coffee chugging bastard.

In short, errand boy.

Any self respecting man would've felt insulted at the implication but really, Qrow could care less about stuff like titles. He's the best at what he does and what he does is kick ass and drink from his flask. Not to mention he wouldn't mind being an errand boy for a guy like Ozpin, considering he's one of the few men on Remnant he respects.

The guy just has a way with people you can't help but follow into war, throwing your life away in the process and for a guy like Qrow life/death situations are needed sometimes, helps to deviate from the monotony of…existing.

If there was one gripe he had with his job, it's that uncertainty you get from the things you see. He's been in the inner circle for decades now and he's seen enough things for him to question the meaning of his life yet he didn't let that bother him.

Hey, alcohol is a hell of a crutch.

Though in some cases it's not on that grand a scale, sometimes it's the little things like information and in this game where the fate of Remnant itself hangs on the line, information can be a pretty big deal. With that said Qrow's been chasing a story as of late, yes a story because if he were being honest he didn't know if it was real or not.

This wasn't one of Ozpin's errands either, it was a, let's call it, project of his that may or may not lead to helping his cause. It also may or may not involve his investigation into the Queen but it's noteworthy enough to get his attention. He started hearing whispers a few towns over of a noticeable drop in Grimm activities. Not necessarily a bad thing yet nothing could come of a shift in Grimm behavior and in the end he was right.

Some people thought they've moved on, others think it's a strategic retreat to come back in bigger numbers and overtake them. Qrow almost laughed at that one, not because of the wording but because they would think the Grimm would retreat because they feel threatened by _them_.

No it wasn't until he heard rumors about a _monster_ that things started falling in place because from what Qrow could see when he past through certain places, _something_ was responsible for the sudden depopulation of Grimm. And from the sounds of it whoever this person is looks like a monster.

And that piqued the veteran Huntsman's interest. Not that he thought this person was a literal monster of course, probably a disguised Faunus or someone with a freaky Semblance...or both. He's out far enough in the boonies for people not even hearing of Aura and Semblance for them to legitimately fear this person. Yep as wide spread and known as concepts like Aura and Semblance are, there are actually still people out there who have no idea what those things are.

On the other hand Qrow had an open mind, comes with the territory, so if it really was something not human/Faunus driving the Grimm away he'd want to know. Not that he wouldn't still be interested to know regardless and if he found it to be an Atlesian lab experiment gone rogue then, well, _Jimmy's got some 'splainin to do_.

He chuckled to himself as he half staggered into town, still smelling of booze and looking the part of an incompetent ex-Huntsman. He's been drunk so many times he could literally act the part on demand. It also helps that people don't immediately put their guard up around him, a half drunk Huntsman down on his luck are a Lien a dozen in these parts. For added effect he took careful sips from his flask disguised as gulps.

As expected no one paid much attention to the shabby looking Huntsman shambling towards the bar, his weapon was folded behind his cape partially concealing it save for the red handle. So as he entered the building not stopping by the door like an idiot for dramatic pauses, his eyes didn't visibly scan the area, only kept on the bar and its numerous drinks. There was a noticeable pause when he initially came in but it passed just as quickly.

"Yo" he said draining the rest of his flask "gimme the strongest thing you got."

That wasn't for playing the part, he just felt like his buzz was going down and if there's one thing he fully took advantage of it was the funds Ozpin gave him to help with his investigation.

*Slurp*

"Hah~"

Now that is Lien well spent.

Now that he was sufficiently tipsy enough to feel a tingling sensation (but not enough to start taking off his pants and dance a Mistralian jig) he scanned the room. There are always three types of people who come to a bar out in places like these and one of them and 7 out of 10 times there's always a guy down on his luck willing to share drinks with another (provided they take up the tab) and share their woes.

This is partially the reason why he had to get at least a _little_ drunk. Pleasure aside, acting can only go so far of you're trying to lower someone's guard with idle conversations over drinks and Qrow has practically mastered this part. And they say you couldn't mix business with pleasure. The place wasn't crowded, in fact everyone was scattered around, he saw some civilians getting a drink after a hard day, some guys that must be a part of the towns militia playing cards and heck there were even some out-of-townsfolk, like himself, sitting by themselves.

The Huntsman smiled a little to himself, raising the glass to his lips. Today's looking to be another-

"Do you have any coffee?"

Qrow almost did the blasphemous act of doing a spit take of his booze, partly because he was genuinely startled and also because _'who the hell orders coffee in a bar?'_

Qrow could feel a familiar prickling sensation, a warning that something was off about this guy.

The bartender raised an eyebrow but answered nonetheless "you'll have to wait while I make it."

The teen threw some chips on the counter "do it, black, no cream or sugar."

' _Just the way Ozpin likes it'_ Qrow couldn't help the small chuckle

"A little late to be having coffee ain't it?"

"A little early to be drinking 'ain't it'?"

"Not at all" Qrow took another drink.

"Wasn't talking _now_."

Qrow raised a confused eyebrow "oh?" Then the realization dawned on him "oh~ so you saw that?"

"Didn't need to, I could smell it on you."

Qrow actually took a sniff of his arm as if to humor "I don't smell it" he could almost hear the scoff "pretty good nose you got there, you a Faunus or something?"

"…or something" he brought up his index finger and with a sickening *crunch* broke it against his thumb

This made the bartender turn a little alarmed at the sound but only found Qrow staring wide eyed at the hooded guy whose hand just rested on the table. Furrowing his brows the bartender turned back to the coffee that had finished brewed. Qrow on the other hand didn't outwardly react beyond his eyes widening and didn't ask any more questions either.

This guy had an _interesting_ way to tell someone 'fuck off'. Qrow wasn't sure if he was a Faunus or not with the hood still obscuring his features but he was a little surer of his age. The guy was young, definitely younger than himself so it was still up in the air whether he was late teens or early twenties.

Though if he is a teenager then in Qrow's opinion this guy isn't like any teenager he's ever met before and that was saying something considering he used to be a teacher. Not thinking of his statement they both fell in a lapse of silence until Qrow decided to join the poker game around the back.

\

Over an hour later and Qrow had befriended everyone around the table, which was easy enough. The combination of a good card game, alcohol and banter bringing them close enough (as strangers) for them to get to talking. They complained about the usual, everyday life, their hardass commanding officer who just _has_ to stick to the rules _"fuck that guy"_ and of course Grimm.

Or in this case, a lack thereof.

Unfortunately there wasn't a plausible explanation for the sudden lack of Grimm in their territory which was a shame. Though at the end of their fifth round in which Qrow lost a bunch of Lien he got up.

"Gonna take a piss, just enough time for Jerome to lose the rest of his paycheck"

"Fuck you."

Everyone laughed as the man took Qrow's spot while the latter went to relieve himself. He figured he'd stick around just long enough to win back his Lien, maybe take a few pocket change and be on his merry way. That thought just about derailed when he walked back into the bar.

" _Why hello there good sir, I was wondering if you can help me find a_ _ **friend**_ _. He was wearing a hoodie and he may have ordered coffee instead of a drink."_

The voice instantly grabbed his attention, not because of recognition but because he knew a lie when he heard it. He walked around the back, his eyes casually glanced to the newcomer and to his slight surprise the man caught his eye and instantly Qrow knew this guy was dangerous. His stance which he could easily use to attack, defend or counter at a moments notice, the look in his eyes that reflected insanity and also recognition.

In that one instant Qrow was suddenly very wary, it wasn't often he met someone like this, someone who could legitimately make him worry at just a glance. The moment fade when Qrow's eyes averted towards the table just in time to Justin lay down his cards.

"Read em' and weep"

Jerome cursed throwing the cards on the table while Qrow pretended to look at his watch "whoah, four minutes!" he mock exclaimed "you lasted longer than I thought kid"

"Shut up"

As Qrow took his seat he paid special attention to mystery man's conversation. He may not be an immediate threat but it pays to be paranoid in his line of work, plenty a times he managed to scrape through by the skin of his teeth on pure gut instincts.

As the left Qrow couldn't help but wonder what that guy wanted with the guy from earlier but one thing he knew was that he was no friend to him. Coffee guy gave off the vibe of someone who was recently incarcerated but got off on early parole before skipping town.

This new guy reminded Qrow of himself actually, someone used to tracking down people, getting information and getting a job done.

Like a real fucking Huntsman should.

Adding all this up coffee guy was being tracked by him and judging by the lack of urgency he saw before, coffee guy didn't even realize he was being pursued. That or he just thought he'd given him the slip.

Either way it wasn't any of Qrow's business. He didn't make it a habit of prying into every single thing that happens around him unless he deems it necessary. And he definitely did not deem it necessary to meddle in the affairs of a bounty hunter.

 _'Not pulling the pin on_ _ **that**_ _grenade.'_

\

That was what he told himself yet fast forward a few hours and the situation degraded to a point where he had to get himself involved. Which was ironic because it was purely coincidence he happened upon what he was about to intervene in.

After reclaiming his winnings Qrow had rented a room to rest only to wake up a few hours later just after midnight when he sensed something. His gut was telling him there was something wrong.

There was something in the air, something foul and to Qrow it reeked of _her_. He could feel when something especially dark was in the vicinity and considering he wasn't being mailed by some grotesque monstrosity he didn't know whether to be received or worried that he wasn't.

Clearly whatever spooked him wasn't close as far as he could tell but since its more than an average threat he would have to investigate.

And investigate he did, stealth wasn't his forte nor was being subtle but he could make exceptions for the job. The initial change from human to crow was always a little jarring, not to mention uncomfortable, even for him but he could deal.

*Roar*

He did however hear the roar of as he drew closer he became more aware of the struggle and as the crow settled as close as it deemed in that form it tilted it's head at the sight.

Coffee guy still wearing his black hooded sweatshirt and ripped jeans did a backflip into the clearing just as something plowed through the trees. The crow flapped it's wings a few times to balance itself on the branch when _it_ rushed into the clearing.

 _'A Nemean!? What the hell's a Nemean doing all the way out here!?'_

The massive lion Grimm was easily twice the size of an Ursa major, piercing red eyes glared through a white bone mask with additional bone plating over its four legs and torso. It's mane was wild and bushy, it's body rippled with muscle and to top it off it had two forward facing horns sticking from either side of its head.

Like animals some Grimm are common to the four kingdoms while others for reasons can only be found in certain places. The Nemean, for example is found in the same continent as Mistral.

Yet here one was, old, healthy and extremely pissed. Qrow wondered if his Semblance activated without him knowing or maybe it affected the kid who was already unlucky to begin with and resulted in this.

That's the only plausible reason why he would be fighting a Nemean. Qrow didn't know what was more baffling a Nemean in these parts or the coffee guy, unarmed, facing down said Grimm.

A Grimm that even he would be wary of sober.

 _'He must know what he's doing.'_

The Nemean gave a deafening roar that was certain to wake anyone nearby and charged at coffee guy trying to skewer him. He sidestepped the charge but at the last minute swung it's head around catching him in the ribs and launching him into a tree where he limply slid to the grass.

 _'Well that didn't last real fucking long'_ the Qrow thought.

Surprisingly coffee guy stood mere moments later this time stretching "is that all you can do?"

There has been a debate among Huntsmen and Huntresses about whether the creatures of Grimm can understand human speech. In this case it would seem they can indeed understand it.

Another roar and it swipe at the tree where he was, except that he left at the last second. A large chunk of the tree was gone but it paid no mind as it continued to assault the man before it. Surprisingly the nimble human dodged every swipe of its claw, every charge and lash it's tail.

After a particularly high somersault he spoke "if you're done flailing around" _CRACK_ "I can get started."

With that he closed the distance, diving under the Nemean's head and springing up with both feet giving the lion Grimm an uppercut that staggered it. Coffee guy then flipped in mid air, cupped his hands and chambered a double fist strike right on its snout with enough force to create a decent size crater. He finished off with a winding kick that sent it through a tree.

 _'That's some Semblance.'_

Wasn't anything too impressive whether it just boosts his strength naturally or he absorbs outside energy to get it going. What he was mildly impressed with was his control over the fight. The Nemean was a powerful Grimm and statistically Qrow would have a challenge killing it but that's mainly because of its endurance and strength than anything. Also taking into account he's a veteran but if he's being honest the statistics are bull and most Huntsmen outside of Mistral wouldn't know how to deal with a Nemean anyway.

The most common misconception with a Huntsman profession is that everyone thinks that if they could do a few fancy moves and have a Semblance then they could cut through Grimm like a weed hacker. If that was true then they wouldn't have Grimm Studies but then again when a guy like Port is the professor then-"

His moment of silent contemplation shattered as the Nemean and coffee guy rushed at each other. He saw the human reach behind his back and as the leapt at each other something flashed briefly and coffee guy did a mid air corkscrew before landing in a crouch while the Grimm's claws dug into the grass to slow it's momentum.

Qrow was legitimately surprised when he saw what looked like a large expanding rod held in one hand and something else in the other. Beady black eyes shifted to the Nemean which was now missing half its right horn. The moment it turned around said horn jammed into it's eye.

It happened so fast the the crow jumped a little as the reaction was instant, it thrashed about for a while but it was all coffee guy needed. He dashed forward in a burst of speed and jumped on its back, sticking close despite its bucking.

Raising his hand with his collapsible sword in a reverse grip he stabbed down at the lower middle of its back. The Nemean howled in pain and with a twist electricity shot directly into its body until

 ***CRACK***

With a whine the Nemean went fell limp though judging by the sporadically twitching paw, it wasn't dead.

Qrow cringed when he heard the soundbut was legitimately impressed and more than a little surprised/unnerved then again it's not everyday he could watch someone trounce an A-class Grimm then immobilize it by severing it's spine in the right area for it to be paralyzed from the neck down. This isn't any fighting style he ever saw from Patch or Beaconj so he knew this guy wasn't trained in the Kingdoms.

Coffee guy then casually took out his short sword and it collapsed into the circular handle like a collapsible Bo staff. If Qrow were to be honest he half expected the guy to start torturing it.

Wouldn't be the first time he saw someone do that and it wouldn't be the last.

Instead of doing that though he paused "I know you're out there, so you can come out" he turned around in the Qrow's general direction much to its shock.

Before he could act though there was the sound of slow dramatic claps which echoed in the otherwise silent forest. The crow leaned forward with interest as another person walked into the field. Actually it was the same guy with the braids who was looking for him

"You're the guy that's been stalking me for five days now."

"Stalking is such an ugly word. I like to think of it more as-"

"Annoying" coffee guy cut through "you mind getting to the point? I was going to eat after this."

The man frowned but then smiled "of course, far be it for me to interrupt a man when he's about to have a meal" it might just be his position but Qrow swore the guy gestured to the paralyzed Grimm"

"And yet you're still here."

"I guess I'll just get to the point then."

"About time" he grumbled but either the man didn't hear it or ignored it entirely.

"My name is Tyrian and I was sent here to retrieve you."

Coffee guy didn't react to that in the slightest and he kept silent. Tyrian though hummed "although that would be a poor choice of words. I was actually sent to extend an invitation for you to meet with her grace."

"...what?"

"Yes you see her majesty has been aware on your existence for quite some time now, as I'm sure you also know."

From Qrow's vantage point he couldn't see past the shadows that obscured coffee guy's face under the hood but apparently this Tyrian did as his smile grew. Not that it mattered anyway as coffee guy raised a palm to his head as if calming a headache and growled a single word.

 _ **"Salem..."**_

Flags were raised and every internal warning bells in Qrow went off at the single word.

 _'Shit did I just come up on one of the Queen's recruitment drive?'_

The crows feathers ruffled a little as a thrill of excitement and nervousness shot down his body.

 _'By the way how that Tyrian guy was talking he must be part of her inner circle.'_

This was the kind of break he was looking for, who knows what kind of secrets that guy has. But despite his eagerness to get into action, he was wary and for good reason.

 _'I can't make my move just yet, one of those guys could give me a run for my money. Taking on both of them is just_ _ **asking**_ _to get myself killed. Heh, guess it comes down to whether or not that guy accepts what he's selling.'_

Speaking of...

"What exactly does _she_ want with me?"

"She wants you to join her of course."

 _'There it is.'_

"Her grace means to change this world, remake it by breaking it down and rebuilding it from the ground up" he paused dramatically "only better."

 _'Bullshit'_ thought Qrow.

"Not interested " he said after a moment.

Tyrian chuckled "it wasn't a request"

And with that Tyrian rushed him, wrist blades lashed out but were dodged in a few split seconds. Coffee guy back flipped onto the prone Nemean then leapt towards Tyrian with a kick. The man blocked it but the second kick managed to stumble him though he recovered with a high roundhouse kick coffee guy dodged by twisting his body into a corkscrew.

He landed in a crouch and they rushed each other. Coffee guy started with a flying kick that Tyrian blocked with one arm and used the other to swipe. He quickly flipped off and blocked an attack with his arm guards.

Recovering from the stumble of the block he haphazardly blocked three more strikes before twisting his body into roundhouse kick forcing Tyrian to halt his assault and lean back. He tried for a punch to the face but coffee guy caught it in his palm, a swipe was ducked and leapt over another to disappear into the darkness of the foilage.

All was silent now as Tyrian stood alone but if anything his grin grew wider. Suddenly coffee guy leapt from the branch behind him with a sword poised to stab down.

*Click*

Tyrian spun around and a hail of bullets battered against coffee guy's Aura.

"Shit" he grunted the shots threw off his trajectory and he tucked, roll, flipped and ran while deflecting all he could, his Aura flickered, absorbing the damage.

All the while Tyrian cackled like the maniac he was. With an irritated growl coffee guy made a b-line towards him, sword flashing as he deflected the bullets.

"Hah!" He cackled and they both swung at each other.

That's when Tyrian saw his teeth flashed under the hood in a pleased grin. Just before their blades clashed, his burned red as it superheated with red Dust.

*Clang*

*BOOM*

Tyrian cried out as he was blasted back by a torrent of flames. He skipped back to gain some distance even as coffee guy pursued, his blade glowed red with Dust.

 _'Now's my chance!'_ thought Qrow as he blasted off the branch towards Tyrian's flank.

The amber eyed man turned in shock when Qrow shifted to his human form and brought down his broadsword the same time Coffee guy swung his explosive charged blade.

 ***BOOM***

Twice the force of the instrument explosion the combined power of Qrow and coffee guy kicked up dust. Soon the smoke cleared to reveal all three of them standing in a crater. Tyrian, half covered in soot had his blades crossed holding Qrow's broadsword while he blocked coffee guy's sword with...a scorpion tail?

He's a Faunus?

He's a Faunus!

Two simultaneous "shit" came from the hooded man and Huntsman.

Tyrian cackled triumphantly before twisting his body to the ground performing a series of upside down leg sweeps that caught them both off guard enough to get a few hits in, coffee guy more than Qrow.

He finished off with a handspring kick that caught coffee guy in the gut but Qrow blocked with the broad side of his sword. The force still managed to set them apart from each other. Though coffee guy distanced himself from Qrow with a small leap.

Both of them eyed the veteran but it was Tyrian who broke the tense silence.

"Qrow" he gave a toothy smile "a true Huntsman as entered the frey. Truly this must be my lucky day."

Qrow raised an eyebrow at his grandiose display but didn't get a chance to comment as coffee guy spoke.

"So you're not with this guy?"

"Hm, no"

"Then why the hell didn't you get down here sooner?"

"Sorry guy, had to be sure whose side you're on. What does he want with you anyway?

"You know it's rude to talk about someone when they're standing right in front of you."

"Okay, what do you want with him?"

"Oh, _I'm_ not the one who has business with him. I am simply a humble servant tasked with ensuring that he responds to the summons granted by the queen"

"That's not happening" coffee guy drawled "you can tell _Salem_ I'm not interested in being her stooge" he turned to Qrow "have fun with him."

"That's a shame, especially when we can help you locate a certain raven"

He stopped in his tracks "come again."

Qrow suddenly felt a pit in his stomach, he was very particular to that word and the way how Tyrian's eyes flickered to him when he said it spells trouble...for him.

 _'I've got a bad feeling about this'_

"Oh yes her grace is aware of your pursuit of the elusive Raven Branwen."

' _Oh fuck me'_

"You know where she is?" He said a little anxiously.

 _'Shit, shit, shut up!'_ He charged after Tyrian with a swing.

If someone's trying to find Raven then it couldn't be for any good reason.

He sidestepped the swing "unfortunately" swiped at him "I know not where she is" ducked a kick and struck with his stinger, Qrow blocked with the flat of his broadsword the swung up.

Tyrian flipped back "perhaps you could ask her brother, Qrow Branwen."

*Bang* a bullet aimed for his heart whizzed by as Tyrian did a backflip handspring to dodge.

There was a beat of silence only broken by a chuckle then full blown laughter followed.

"Qrow, right, like a bird and Branwen, hehehehee" he reached up and pulled off his hood "I get it"

Qrow was momentarily shocked to see, not the face of a young man but of an older boy.

 _'Looks like he's around Yang's age, well damn, what do you know, a freaking prodigy.'_

His dark white hair was unkempt and his ocean blue eyes stared coldly into Qrow. The veteran didn't so much as bat an eye at him.

"Look kid, whatever problems you have with Raven got nothing to do with me-"

"I know" he said in an oddly calm voice.

"You do...?" he said unsure.

"Oh yeah" he collapsed his sword "I know you're not part of your sister's merry band of thieves and murderers" he crouched a little "but that's beside the point which is that crazy bastard used that to try and manipulate me to attack you."

Qrow spared a glance to Tyrian who growled a little.

"So here's what's going to happen, after I kill Salem's stooge you're going to tell me everything you know about her."

He cracked his finger and his left eye turned red with a black sclera. Some black veins could also be seen around the edges.

"You get all that?"

"Whatever you say kid" he readied his sword as they eyed the Faunus whole Qrow noted now has purple eyes.

For a moment Tyrian looked conflicted but then a wide smile stretched a cross his features.

"Hehehe, it seems negotiations have broken down."

Coffee guy or more like coffee kid shot after Tyrian so hard the dirt and grass exploded behind him. At the same time Qrow rushed from the other side, questions forgotten for now. Questions like why did he put away his weapon if he's getting serious.

Tyrian went after coffee guy with a burst of speed.

 _'They're both faster'_ Qrow noted following.

As they closed the gap coffee guy's hands extended at the side. With a snarl four black tentacles shot out from his lower back.

Qrow skidded to a stop "what the fuck?"

Tyrian on the other hand leapt over coffee guy's initial charge while peppering him with bullets. The tentacles shielded him and one shot out to impale him but Tyrian twisted out the way.

Landing on all fours Tyrian rolled to the side to avoided a second implement and punched the other two away then charged at the opening only to get intercepted by Qrow who swung horizontally in his path.

Tyrian had skid on his knees while making sure to fired fire from his wrist blade gun. Qrow spun his sword around to deflect the bullets. Tyrian abruptly curled himself into a ball using his tail to elevate himself just in time to dodge a tentacle stab.

Using his tail he flung himself at the teen who blocked but once Tyrian's feet reached the tendrils, he pried them apart and attempted to sting him. He caught the stinger ignoring the cut and swung Tyrian around to smash him into the ground.

Tyrian though dazed had enough semblance to roll from a tendril stab but overlooked Qrow who caught him off guard with a massive swing to his side that would've bisected him if not for his Aura. As he was launched he managed to recover midair only for his feet to be grabbed by a pair of tendrils

The teen then proceeded to smash him through two trees and into the dirt where the mad man laid prone. He dragged the body forward intent to finish it.

Only to stop at Qrow's interjection "whoa there kid, I know you hate his guts but I'm gonna have to ask you not kill him."

"You want to take his place" he pointed a finger his remaining three tentacles pointed at him in a threateningly similar manner "because at this point I can go both ways."

Qrow's smile was easygoing despite the threat though his weapon remained in hand "relax kid, besides you need my help"

As if something clicked his eyes narrowed "Branwen"

"What the hell did Raven do to you" Qrow raised his weapon subtly as his tentacles writhed a little.

"She killed my family!"

For the first time that night Qrow was speechless, shock didn't even begin to cover what he felt. He suppressed the initial emotions to look the kid in the eye.

He wasn't lying, he really believed his sister killed his family.

 _'Dammit Raven'_

His reply was cut short when Tyrian suddenly surged, ripping free of the tentacle before stabbing his stinger into the teen's shoulder. The distance was too close for him to dodge but the teen did retaliate by grabbing Tyrian's arm with two tendrils and with a wrench broke it in at least two different places.

Tyrian cried briefly but bit the inside of his cheek and fired at the boy with his free wrist blade gun. The manic Faunus laid out some retreating fire as he fled under the cover of darkness.

"No you don't" Qrow went to pursue only to look back in time to see coffee kid drop to his knees.

 _'Ugh, now what'_ he looked towards the kid and where Tyrian escaped and hissed a curse before doubling back to the fallen teen.

The tentacles disappeared like ashes in the wind. Sweat pooled at his brow and he held his shoulder while looking at his injured hand.

Looking up his two blue eyes reflected pain "p-poison."

"Dammit hang on kid I'll get you to a healer. You have a name kid?"

"Not...kid..." Qrow snorted a bit "just...Jaune."

He passed out not a second afterwards.

Qrow looked from the kid to the dissolving tendrils and back where Tyrian was last seen before resting his sword on his back and slowly stood

' _Whelp, Jimmy's got some 'splainin to do'_

\

At an unknown amount of time he regained consciousness, his mind played catch up for about two minutes before he sprung from his position, after checking under the bandages where he got stung he sighed in relief. Just some minor scarring which is a welcome to the alternative, that being death.

As he looked around the hospital room he began planning his next move but first _'need to find my clothes and weapon'_

Luckily it didn't take long for him to find his clothes folded in a drawer but unfortunately his weapon was nowhere to be see.

"Grr" he cracked his index finger under his thumb "someone has a death wish"

Knowing that he won't get anywhere searching an obviously empty room he walked out the door and into a corridor and down a random hall.

' _This isn't a hospital'_ he realized.

Funny enough, the room he'd just been in looked legit enough but the more he walked the more he thought differently and within five minutes of walking he came upon a window.

"What the…"

Jaune saw Airships landing outside and people more specifically _teenagers_ filing out in a mishmash of colors that made his eyes hurt just looking at them. He saw the castle-like buildings, he saw the ships and, even if he hadn't acknowledged it at the moment, he saw that scruffy looking, alcohol smelling, wash-up of a _Branwen_ lurking behind him but at the immediate moment he could only think.

' _Where the hell am I?'_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: I wrote this at a time where I got into the Tokyo Ghoul Fandom, ddint feel inspired enough to do a oneshot for it so i ddi the next best thing.** **Now last year in vol 3 during the introduction of Qrow we saw the fandom give rise to a few 'Qrow found Jaune while traveling the wilds' stories.**

 **This is my take on that fad plus I mixed in with another take on 'Jaune is part Grimm' and added just a bit of revenge in there. I chose Raven over Salem for the revenge bit as an outlet for her conversation with Qrow in vol 4. Plus I like being unpredictable like that.**


	5. A Not So Common Criminal Part 2

**A Not So Common Criminal Part 2: Roses are Red Jaunes are Blonde**

*Ring* Ring*

It wasn't the sound of his alarm clock that woke him, nor was it his landlord.

"Who the fuck is calling me this late?"

Once he saw the caller ID he scowled and answered.

"This better be important boss."

" _Watch your mouth you little ingrate."_

Jaune yawned in the phone "sorry, I'm a bastard when I don't get enough sleep."

" _You mean more than usual?"_

"Yeah, so if you don't-*yawn*- if you don't say what the hell you want I'm gonna hang up."

" _Alright, alright here's the deal. I got a guy here, looking for some hired muscle, you interested?"_

This caused him to blink the sleepiness from his eyes "what's the job?"

" _This is the type of thing you don't go to details over a Scroll"_

"…ah, what the hell it's not like I'm doing anything. When am I supposed to show up?"

\

Dressed in his black dress pants, shoes, suit jacket, red tie and black brimmed hat Jaune approached his place of work for the first time in three days. The customary bouncers were present, one of them tapped the other once they noticed him and they both greeted him.

"Rufus, Jerry."

"Jaune"

"What's up?"

"Bossman called with a gig, you two in on it?"

Jerry, the man with a soul patch shook his head "nah, boss isn't gonna let us go. Not after what happened with blondie."

Jaune grimaced a little, no doubt she'd have to go through these guys before actually going into the club.

"Hey I'm pretty sure blondie's gonna think twice about trying that shit here again."

Both men glanced at each other when Rufus spoke "so it's true, you actually beat her."

"Oh shit I thought that was some kind of rumor-"

"Whoa slow down, back up, what rumor?"

"That you beat blondie."

"Oh that."

"Is it true?" Rufus pressed.

"Well someone's gotta put people like her in their place when she get outta line." Jaune shrugged with a smirk that faltered when he saw heir blank gazes "yeah I kicked her ass, so what?"

"So what!? Not even the twins could beat her!"

"I thought the whole deal of us being here was supposed to be beating down anyone who makes trouble."

Jerry rubbed a hand through his hair "fuck man, we're hired for normal people not fucking Hunters and shit."

"If what Jimmy said was true then damn, you're better than the twins."

"Wait, exactly _what_ did Jimmy say?"

"That you ripped blondie a new one."

"Oh"

' _Well that definitely sums up what went down'_

"Sorry guys I gotta get inside"

"Yeah, what happened to your glasses?"

"Blondie clocked me one in the face" he rubbed his cheek.

Even after three days that still fucking hurt.

"Shot gauntlets?"

"Fucking shot gauntlets."

"Take mine."

"You sure about that Rufus?"

"I got more, besides you're supposed to be meeting a VIP with some of the guys guarding shipments."

Jaune placed the glasses on his face and looked up with the world now in red tint. He nodded his thanks and passed the doormen.

 _Once you get past the rough exterior the guys are actually good people._

The moment he started walking into The Club he could tell something was up. The guys actually stopped to stare a little as if it was the first time they were seeing him. He saw some whispering and got more than a few greetings which he returned.

' _Jimmy's been busy.'_

Jaune's newfound popularity aside he could see that the construction was going good. They cleared up the debris, some tools and equipments were lying around, no doubt left by construction crew.

"Jaune!"

His gaze turned to "Jimmy"

Their palms connected in the traditional greeting before pulling each other into a hug and shaking their hands.

"You spreading rumors about me man?"

"Hey I'm only saying what happened" he said innocently or as innocent as a convicted felon can say.

"We'll talk later, where's the boss?"

"In his office and Jaune careful with the guy he's meeting, the guy's crafty."

 _Despite Jimmy's alcoholism and mild drug addiction he's been around the block so many times he can pick a cop out in plain clothes or if a guy is packing heat. Bottom line is that he's a good judge of character and if he's warning me about this client I'm gonna listen. Skills aren't shit if someone can catch you sitting on your hands._

"I'll keep that in mind."

"The rest of the guys are in a van around back."

Jaune made his way to the back where the second surprise of the night awaited him in the form of red and white. Jaune saw their eyes light up when their gazes met which was a shock considering that the first time I met the twins, it was short to say the least

 _*~Memory Chime~*_

" _Hey I'm-"_

"" _Hmph, whatever""_

 _*~Memory Chime~*_

"Like hey, it's Jaune right?"

"Yeah."

' _That's three more words than you have ever spoken to me for the entire time I've been here.'_

"I'm Militia, this is my sister Melanie."

"I know who you are. I've been here for three weeks now."

The red twin deflated a little at his rather blunt admittance.

' _Ah crap, now I feel bad.'_

"I've never seen you around here before. I'd remember if one of those guys had blonde hair." Melanie asked glancing at the few bangs that curtain his forehead.

' _Was our first meeting that forgettable?'_

"Junior had me guarding the back entrance."

Militia's brow furrowed "that's stupid, you should be like, guarding the Club with us."

"He didn't believe me when I told him and I don't make it a habit of broadcasting them so" Jaune trailed off with a shrug "besides actions speak louder than words anyway."

Melanie nodded "I'll say, I can't see Junior sticking you on backdoor duty after the way you handled that blonde bimbo."

"Yeah it's like something out of a kungfu movie. Like, where'd you learn how to do that?"

' _Crap'_

Jaune placed a finger to his lips "sorry ladies but I'm keeping that to myself"

This made the twins exchange a look before Militia spoke "well we just wanted to like, thank you for bailing us out."

"And for kicking blondie's ass" Melanie added with a satisfied grin.

"No prob"

' _It's what Junior hired me for'_

 _I didn't add that last part because that would be insensitive and I just so happen to be in the market for a girlfriend._

"Hey you three!"

' _That is, if I can get past papa bear'_

They all turned to see Junior coming forward with who Jaune guess was the client. He was about Jaune's height, with thick orange bangs covering his right eye.

 _He looked different from the last time I saw him, but if there's one thing that hasn't changed it's the hat and cane. No doubt about who it was._

"Roman Torchwick"

Said man raised an amused brow "you know who I am."

It wasn't a question and Jaune wasn't asking.

"There's no one on Weston Street who doesn't know who you are."

At the mention of Weston Street Roman frowned. Jaune folded his arms to give him a once over. He dressed smartly in black dress shoes, brown pants and a white suit. A grey ascot was tied around his neck and on his head was a bowler hat.

"You know, people were starting to think you were dead."

 _Roman Torchwick was a thief who was rising through the ranks of the Mistralian criminal underground. He was small time but there was no doubt he would've been doing big in a few years. The guy was a certified Rat, an orphan who used his own skills to get what he wanted. Honestly he was what some small time hustlers aspired to be, a real rags to almost riches story._

 _That is, until he disappeared one day, just poof and now I was standing before the guy whose basically an urban legend._

"That's on a need to know basis kid and you don't need to know. You're a long way from Mistral"

Jaune never really met the man before and only knew him by reputation. That by no means meant he was some kind of fan. That meant he'll treat him like anyone who'd talk to him like he was some dumb kid.

"So what happened to you man? Last I heard you were running a small time thieving ring, now you're what, the ringleader for circus-so-gay?"

This proclamation was met with some snickering on the twins' part and even Junior cracked a smile.

Unfortunately this didn't really faze the thief much who turned to Junior "who is he?"

"He's one of the guys I'm sending with you."

"You giving me a snot nosed brat?"

"Trust me, the kid is more skilled than he looks."

Jaune saw his lone emerald eye narrow a bit before they settled on the red tinted glasses of the boy.

"I'll be the judge of that" he said walking away.

"Judge of what?" Jaune asked looking at his boss "what the hell's going on here?"

"You're going to be helping Torchwick rob some Dust stores"

Jaune's eyes widened in legitimate shock "are you out of your goddamn mind?"

"Look I know you don't approve-"

"You're damn right I don't approve!"

"You gonna let me finish talking" he glared.

"Fine"

Junior sighed "look, the damages for repairing The Club came back a lot more than expected. Fucking insurance company can cover it but I got some of my _former_ customers suing me."

Well shit.

"Fuck I can't even pin this shit on Blondie because of the Beacon lawyers and Hunter immunity"

Jaune scowled at this "and you think robbing Dust stores with a wanted criminal like Roman Torchwick is a good call?"

 _Junior was a criminal yes but there is a difference between selling information, being the middleman between deals, moving narcotics shipments and pulling off Dust heists._

"You realize that if any of the boys get caught they're looking at jail time right? Hell most of the guys here already have rap sheets and some are on parole."

"That's why I'm sending you."

"What?"

"I don't trust Torchwick as far as I can shoot him but his Lien is good and I get 30 percent of goods after everything is done since my boys are doing most of the work."

Jaune nodded in understanding "okay that's not a bad deal, what do you need me for then?"

"I want you to make sure my boys get out if things go south. I wouldn't put it past the bastard to leave them in the lurch and save his skin."

 _No one would, Roman Torchwick would do_ _ **anything**_ _to survive, it was basically his motto._

"I did not sign up for this"

"I'll double your pay"

"Triple it" he said and Junior glowered "let's face it boss, with the new school term for Beacon coming up there's bound to be more than few wannabe heroes prowling the streets and let's face it your boys aren't going to be able to handle them if they're even _half_ as good as blondie."

Junior grumbled but ultimately conceded since he saw Jaune's point "fine"

Jaune grinned "knew you'd see reason."

 _There's a high chance that most new students aren't going to be in blondie's league. When it comes to Hunters they could be narrowed down into two categories, government trained or specialized trained. One of them is the basic garden variety, taught in groups about basic self defense and from there on they build on that training with experience. Specialized training is where they get help from an outside source like special tutors, family or whatever._

 _Needless to say 'Yang' definitely fell into the specialized category but it wasn't anything to worry about since even when they get a head start in their training they still lack one fundamental thing, experience. And not like fighting Grimm experience or fighting in a tournament type experience but the gritty, life-and-death, coming at you, survival of the fittest, do or die kind of experience._

 _Anyone can fight off the Grimm in even a loosely controlled environment or beat an opponent to an inch of their Aura but throw them out into deep waters and most if not all would drown like a punk bitch._

\

 _It was me along with four other guys: Marcus, Dominique, Augustus and Ricky. The job was simple; rob a few Dust stores which was exactly what we did for the next few weeks. We were all armed with pistols, semi automatics and swords. Well everyone but me, apparently I didn't need to carry a piece because Roman didn't want me to mess up._

 _Besides, what would a grunt whose only there to load the boxes need a weapon for?_

 _I didn't mind too much, I don't need a weapon to kick ass, something everyone except Roman knows. While on the subject I found that the man is a grade A asshole but then who isn't, no I hate the guy for specific reasons that I won't get into but he's just one of my grievance working with him._

 _The other being the operations themselves._

 _From what I know and what common sense dictates, when you're robbing somewhere, you plan ahead, hit it when the place is closed to avoid witnesses and try to make it out as fast as possible to avoid the cops or worse, Hunters._

 _Roman did none of those, in fact he made it his goal to not follow any of them. There wasn't any real plan when we go in. Shit, sometimes we even hit the place in broad daylight in front of every-fucking-body without destroying any of the security cameras. The asshole even takes his time pocketing some of the Dust crystals while we literally clean the place out._

 _Strangely enough the cops never really show up until we're gone, every time. So either the VPD is just that incompetent or Roman's got more connections than I thought. Either way we or rather Roman has made himself notorious the past few weeks (we don't get much credit for being hired help). People know what we look like but they are either too scared or just don't give a crap to snitch._

 _The other upside was that I was being paid commission for my services, so much so that my landlord hasn't bitched about overdue rent since. I made sure to stash the leftovers somewhere safe that is definitely not my apartment._

 _So life was actually pretty good, I don't like Roman any better (neither did the guys) but he's paying and they're not getting caught so things were looking up. I knew that my lucky streak wouldn't last for long and as it turns out I was right._

 _It all started one night, just another job Roman had us walking into._

 _Literally_

 _\_

Civilians started scattering as the group of five made their way to the only Dust store foolish enough to open at night despite the rate of Dust related robberies. There was a reason for this and it's the same reason why Jaune had a bad feeling about this particular job.

' _We're too close to Beacon.'_

Well not really close but they were on the side of Vale that students are known to pop up around and considering it's a few days until the new semester it wouldn't be farfetched for some students to be wandering around to get Dust for their weapons. And the last thing they need is for some kid to try and play hero.

"You okay Dom?"

"Yeah, I just don't like being this close to Beacon."

Augustus cringed, he like everyone else saw the leaked security footage from when Blondie thrashed the club.

"Hey relax, if any Hunter show up we got Jaune."

At Marcus' words they all turned to the youngest to see him calmly surveying the perimeter. The boy nodded slightly at them and it eased some of the tension in them.

"See he's calm about this besides we've gone three weeks without anything happening. What could go wrong now?"

' _Shit I wish he hadn't said that.'_

The six robbers went inside where an old man stood at the counter, poor guy.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop with business?"

"P-please just take my Lien and leave."

"Shh, calm down we're not here for your money" he turned to Jaune "grab the Dust."

They did just that, several cylinders were taken from the briefcase Jaune had. Augustus, Dominique, Jaune and Ricky filled the canister while Roman and Marcus stayed at the front desk to collect the crystals. Everything was going smoothly until Jaune saw Ricky turn his attention elsewhere.

' _Is that music?'_

Jaune soon found the source at the same time Ricky drew his sword and approached it or rather _her_.

 _Unlike cops or soldiers Hunters don't really adhere to a dress code, they could wear anything from armor to short shorts and a fucking tank top as long as they're able to fight. The trick to spotting a Hunter as opposed to a civilian is to look for subtle hints of their training. For example the way how they lean on their stance or calluses on their exposed arm._

 _If you don't find that then look for something a Hunter will more than likely always have on their person, like their weapon._

Ricky was speaking to the girl who looked way too calm in the face of someone pointing a nasty looking sword in their face. Jaune spotted what looked like a red box strapped behind her waist.

"Are you robbing me?"

' _Oh shit'_

" _Yes_!"

"Oh~"

"Ricky she's a Huntress!"

"Wha-"

"HI-YAH!"

Before Ricky could finish he was sent flying to the front desk between a bewildered Marcus and an uncaring Roman who looked at the man before jerking his head in the general direction where his other henchmen came from.

Jaune managed to intercept him "I got this, just get the rest of the stuff."

He made his way between two shelves, staring at the girl who looked confident enough despite how young she is.

Jaune took a breath, _'as if it wasn't bad enough I have to fight another Huntress, she's had to be a freaking kid.'_

"Look, I'm really not in the mood to fight little girls so how about you stay there and no one gets hurt."

The girl stared at him hard and for a moment Jaune thought she got the hint.

"Oof!?"

That moment was shattered when he felt himself getting tackled. On reflex he pushed his foot out, tilted his body to the ground and allowed its momentum to carry it over. For a moment Jaune's eyes locked in with the large bewildered and slightly pained eyes of the girl he thought wasn't going to try and do something heroic.

*Crash*

The little Huntress' body sailed out the window and a few meters down the street.

 _To perform a successful overhead throw on a moving target is to try and offset their center of gravity to lift their body of the ground and allow their forward momentum to carry them the distance. The faster they go the harder they'll crash and considering red smashed through a window and still had enough momentum to go ten meters before stopping meant she was going pretty fucking fast._

 _That meant one thing_

' _Oh great, a speed Semblance'_ Jaune stood up dusting himself and fixing his hat and glasses.

The rest stopped what they were doing and looked about to draw their weapons "no, you guys keep doing what you're doing, I said I'll handle her."

"You heard the man" came Roman's condescending voice "get to it, you too" he directed the last order to Marcus who looked hesitant.

The man then handed Jaune his pistol "no that's okay" he drew his black leather gloves down a bit.

The Huntress got up with a shake of her head, she glared at Jaune but the gesture came off as more adorable than menacing.

Jaune smirked _'like that's supposed to threaten me?'_

That's when the small box she held unfolded into a giant scythe and the smirk fell from his face. She twirled the weapon (which was taller than her) with a flourish equal parts elegant and unnecessary, ending with the business end digging into the asphalt.

For a scant few seconds all three men simply stared speechless at the display. The silence was disrupted when Roman took a drag of his cigar and tapping the ashes.

"Well don't just stand there kid. 'Handle it'."

"On second thought I think I'll take that gun."

It was shoved in front of his face.

"I'll take that sword too."

Ricky's slightly trembling arm rose with the red blade in hand.

Jaune took it along with an extra clip and went through the door to confront the defiant Huntress-in-training. The moment he was before her the girl went into a proper stance with huge scythe at the side.

On one hand Jaune was a little interested with her choice in weaponry, say what you want but no matter how ridiculous a Hunter's weapon could be, they always master them at some point in their life.

' _On the other hand, this is going to be a real pain in the ass.'_

Jaune didn't bother wasting time trying to talk her out of what she's about to do. She's young and naïve enough to want to play the heroine who foils a Dust robbery. Instead he fired the first five consecutive shots which she blocked by twirling the scythe. She retaliated by setting it behind her and pulling the trigger, somehow using the recoil to help her clear the distance faster.

 _Because…_

Jaune easily dodged her overhead strike and retaliated with a slash at her exposed midsection. She used the handle as leverage to dodge the attack. She spun her body around and attempted plant both feet in his temple. Jaune performed a handspring kick while she passed overhead

"Ack"

She landed and did a full body swing with her scythe, Jaune did a butterfly flip to dodge and made sure to fire off a few rounds at her while he got away. She twirled out the way but one nicked her on her leg. Jaune landed and unloaded the rest of his clip only for her to disappear each round of fire.

She waited until he was out before charging forward in a flurry of rose petals. Jaune dropped the empty clip and tossed the new clip in the air. Jaune spun deflecting the blunt side of the scythe and caught the clip loading the gun. This ended with him pointing the barrel mere inches from her shocked face.

"Bang"

Her eyes widened and at the same time Jaune pulled the trigger she did as well while using the recoil to leap away. Jaune glanced at the shell casing her weapon discharged.

' _Sniper rounds….wait'_

"A sniper-scythe, seriously?" to his amusement the girl pouted at his dismissal but before she could say anything he raised his hand "whatever, time to get serious."

This time Jaune went on the attack closing the distance within a second and slashed at her. She blocked with the handle and to his shock started twirling the scythe. Jaune ended up being on defensive dodging the both bladed ends but refused to fall back. A midsection swing had him close into her guard more and use the sword to block.

The girl smirked and fired almost point blank but to her dismay he ducked low to dodge the bullet and performed a roundhouse kick that had the back of his knee around the handle to force it and her closer before he leveled the barrel of her pistol at her. He fired though she didn't run, merely dodge, she was intent on getting the scythe away from him but he wouldn't budge.

He fired again, this time at her hands and feet, eventually it became loose enough for him to stomp on and drop the weapon entirely.

He heard her say "oh no" before giving a heavy midsection slash that had her folding in herself as she sailed a few feet in the air.

He followed after her grabbing her scythe as he did. She coughed a little as she sat up only for her eyes to widen in panic and fear. Before she could react Jaune swept her legs from under her and did an axe kick to the chest that brutally stomped her body back down the readied the spear end poised for her head.

Slightly silver eyes widened in panic and fear (and Jaune noted how familiar it was to blondie) before they clenched shut. Jaune impaled her hood a few centimeters away from her head, just close enough for her to feel the cold steel if she turned a little. The girl opened her slightly watery eyes in confusion to see Jaune towering over her. He kneeled down casually with the gun in view before pressing it to her forehead.

For effect he cocked back the hammer and pulled the trigger. Her eyes began to water with unshed tears.

*Click*

Only to jolt at the sound of hammer snapping forward.

She stared into the red lens shell shocked "bang you're dead" his tone was as cold as steel.

Jaune said nothing more as he left the defeated and thoroughly scared young Huntress immobilized on the ground by her own weapon. As he walked he could vaguely hear the sound of quiet sniffling behind him. Jaune's mood was already shot but hearing Roman's clapping made him scowl behind his glasses.

"Nice work kid."

"I beat up a little girl Torchwick, that's nothing to feel proud of."

Roman dropped the cigar and stepped on it "it was either that or she screwed up the operation and we both know we can't afford any screw-ups."

He chanced a glance at the still shell-shocked and emotionally scarred huntress in training giving an appreciated nod.

"Gotta say, never expected Junior to have a guy like you on the payroll."

Jaune glared at him from the corner of his eyes but said nothing.

"Seems like a waste you're working security for a club" he said almost wistfully.

"What are you getting at?"

A sly smirk found its way on his face "What if I say I'm interested in hiring your services?"

"It's done boss" Marcus interrupted.

Roman tossed his cigar with a puff "then let's get outta here, we already drew enough attention with red."

The thieves all exited the store with Jaune tossing the old man an apologetic look for smashing red through the window. Speaking of, Jaune saw red trying to uproot the scythe from its concrete prison. Their eyes met and she gave him a defiant look even though she was clearly still shaken.

Jaune rolled his eyes at the display ' _wannabe hero'_

They managed to get to the roof and that's when a bullhead came into view.

"Oh come on!"

Augustus looked at him "what's wrong?" they all started loading onto the transport.

"I fucking hate Bullheads" he groused entering with a grimace.

He could already feel his stomach lurching at the sight of the damn thing causing Roman to give him a skeptical glance.

"Why the f-fuck didn't you say it w-was a b-bull-urp-head?"

It took a moment for the thief to realize what was going on and took a step away "hey if you're going to puke, do it over there" he pointed to where the rest of the guys were seated.

Something caught both of their eyes and they both turned and simultaneously said "shit."

Standing on the rooftop next to the bullhead was the person considered to be the one person you would _not_ want to meet while doing _any_ sort of criminal activity.

"Please tell me I'm having some kind of fucked up airsickness delusion because I swear I'm looking at Glynda-fucking-Goodwitch."

At that proclamation the Beacon headmistress started firing purple Dust blasts onto the Bullhead causing it to rock. Jaune swallowed the vomit threatening to spew from his mouth and collapse with his back to the wall staring out the door. He was scarcely aware of Roman going to the cockpit to talk to their getaway driver.

They were about to take off when she fired something at them before he heard thunder and the ship started rocking even more. Jaune held his stomach and mouth vaguely aware that Goodwitch somehow made it started raining hail around the bullhead.

 _When faced with a Hunter as powerful and diverse as Glynda Goodwitch there are only three ways in which you can escape them. You could outrun them, outsmart them or overpower them. In this case when you can't do any of that then its best that you get as many licks as you can so you'll have an interesting story to tell when you're in jail._

"HEY GOOD-BITCH!" Jaune yelled leaning against the cockpit door "EAT PUKE AND DIE!"

Then unable to hold himself anymore Jaune projectile vomited the contents of his stomach onto the shocked Huntress who was so mortified her concentration on her previous attack was lost in favor of shielding herself from the raining contents of partially digested food, bile and stomach acid.

"Oh god I can smell it from all the way over here" he heard Roman yell as the Bullhead veered away from the disgusting site with Jaune firing off a few potshots from his pistol to slow her down further.

"HOOD RATS, MOTHERFUCKER!"

After laughing or more like cackling he turned to see, not Roman but a woman who he suspected to be their getaway driver though a getaway driver this woman did not look like. If Jaune were to be honest with himself she looked like she should be at a hostess club rather than the scene of a Dust robbery.

' _Figures he would be too cheap to hire a_ _ **real**_ _getaway driver.'_

No wonder they got pinned down so fast by Goodwitch.

Now aware that the woman was giving him an apprasing glance he leaned off the wall and scowl "the hell are you looking a-umph"

His cheeks abruptly expanded and he did a hard swallow to the woman's disgust "ah shit" he groaned and headed in the direction of his cohorts "hey one of you guys lend me your hat I'm gonna puke again!"

"Aw hell no!"

"Fuck that!"

"Go use your own!"

"Either I get a hat or I throw up on all you bitches!"

All the while Jaune didn't notice the look the woman gave him. That look turned to disgust when the teen abruptly puked.

"My shoes."

"Ah that's nasty!"

She then hurriedly retreated to the pilot's seat lest the smell assault her senses

\

When the Bullhead landed Jaune was the first, ladies first be damned!

His first action was to find a corner and dump the content of his hat callously on the ground. He had only had a light snack before the heist so he only spent half the trip puking and the other half dry heaving into the already full hat. By that time the guys had given him space and the girl had joined Roman in the cockpit.

"Ugh what's that smell?"

Jaune turned a withering glare to the thief "I should kick your ass for pulling that shit."

"How am I supposed to know you get airsick?"

' _He got me there but I'm not giving him the satisfaction'_

"You're a fucking asshole."

"Duly noted" he stopped once the woman exited.

Now that his stomach was no longer impairing his senses Jaune now got a good look at the woman and _damn_. Long legs, hourglass figure, full lips nice face, dat ass and titties made her one of the most beautiful if not _the_ most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. And from what he's seen of how Roman seemed to straighten up when in her presence Jaune's beginning to think she wasn't just some chick doing him a favor.

' _Looks like I just found the one whose really calling the shots'_ Jaune mused.

He didn't make as much subtlety in masking his clear attraction because he felt that's what she was going for. She expected him to be some dumb virgin kid who would instantly lust after her which in Jaune's case only one of those things was actually true. He kept getting bad vibes from her, he was actually thankful for the glasses because he might not be able to mask his scrutinizing gaze.

Turns out he didn't have to worry, the woman easily dismissed him as a common thug with a mouth and his youth would explain why he's so outspoken. Roman left with mystery girl leaving Jaune and the guys to go back to The Club via a nondescript van.

On the drive Jaune sat with his smelly hat on his lap while the guys gave him not so subtle glances.

"Air sickness" Ricky snickered.

"Careful Ricky you saw how I handled red."

"You beat up a little girl-"

"That you got your ass kicked by"

"He's got you there Rick."

Jaune felt something off as they drove and felt his suit before reaching into the coat and pulled out a card, Roman's business card with a note attached.

' _Jimmy was right, he is a crafty son of a bitch.'_

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And another prospective Huntress is scarred for life, wait to go Jaune you beat up a little girl!**

… **Yay?**

 **For those of you who thought that maybe Jaune beat Ruby too easily I think you overestimate her too much. She's good but let's face it she's still 15 years old, in fact I don't think it's farfetched to say she might have been the weakest on her team but that's besides the point.**

 **The point being that Ruby is too green, sure she could handle a few thugs and mindless Grimm but aside from her skills with Crescent Rose she doesn't really have any tact when it comes to fighting an opponent who may be able to bypass her speed and reach. And just remember I watched the first few episodes before the current one and she has come a long way.**

 **You guys want a discussion PM me about any grievances.**


	6. Legion

**Author's Notes: This is a reimagining of the ill fated Journey of Arc: The Six Paths of Jaune**

* * *

 **Legion**

The Bullhead ride was terrible but then again it always is.

*Blech*

Every single time.

After washing his mouth out with some bottled water, Jaune adjusted his glasses, hefted on his comically large bagpack and preceded to walk down the path. He only got as far as where to take in the view of Beacon in all its glory could.

He gulped, a tread of nervousness gripping as the realization dawned _'I-I'm here I actually made it'_

After soaking up the view he cracked a smile "well Jaune, are you ready to go on an adventure?"

He took the first step forward-

 ***BOOM***

-and took two steps back to see where that explosion came from only to see two girls standing in a crater. Well one of them was standing while the other was sitting and judging by the soot covering the White haired girl it would seem that the little girl was the one to _"ahem"_ explode apparently.

"And I thought my Semblance was weird" he shook his head and walked away.

He soon learned that Beacon was _freaking huge_ and also despite this they put absolutely no direction boards.

 _'How do they expect people to find where they're going, unless it must be a test'_

Either that or they just assume that wherever the auditorium is then it must be so obvious that no one could have missed it. Except he did and if this were a test then he failed.

"Not even an hour and you're already thinking self depreciating thoughts." He clapped his cheeks "come on Jaune you haven't even started yet. This is no time to be caught unawares"

"Um excuse me"

The sudden voice startled him so much he whipped his body around with a shout "whoa!"

"Eep!"

And promptly knock down whoever was behind him.

"Oh today is just not my day" a voice groaned morosely from his side.

' _Heh, I can relate'_

"Aw geez I'm sorry, are you okay?"

He held a hand out to the prone form of the girl who just so happens to be the one with the exploding Semblance.

' _Now that I look at her she seems pretty young'_ certainly younger than the age requirement at Beacon _maybe she's visiting a relative or something.'_

She gratefully takes his offered hand mumbling a thank you before taking a look at him (and his oversized backpack) where her eyes lit up in slight recognition "aren't you the guy who threw up on the airship?"

There was an imperceptible twitch of his eyebrow as he replied "aren't you the girl who exploded in the courtyard?"

At her horrified expression Jaune couldn't help but think _'well this has gotten off to a great start'_

"That was an accident! Some crabby girl was shaking a vial of Dust in my face!" she exclaimed.

"And I forgot to bring my medication" he countered while fixing his glasses before sighing "I guess we're both having a bad day huh?"

She looked down a little, expression reminiscent of a kicked puppy "tell me about it. Wanna start over?" she held a hand out.

"Sure, I'm Jaune Arc."

"Ruby Rose."

And with that they shook on it.

"By the way what's with the bagpack?" she couldn't help but stare "I'm pretty sure they collect your stuff for you"

"Eh, between you and me I don't trust unknown strangers with my stuff. I mean what's to stop them from rifling through it?"

"They won't go through our stuff"

"How are you so sure?"

"I…I just do?"

"Uh-huh" he shook his head "anyway I have some important things here so I think I'll keep it in the safest place, with me"

"Right so…" she nodded slowly.

"Did you want something by the way?"

"Uh-OH right! Do you know where the amphitheatre is? I'm kind of lost here"

"You and me both unfortunately but I'm sure between the two of us we can find it"

Ruby's expression of sadness quickly turned into a smile at his words "yeah, let's do it. How hard could it be?"

'… _I really wished she hadn't said that.'_

 _An Undisclosed amount of time later_

By the time they arrived they were both panting "it should _not_ have taken that long to find this place"

"I don't get it" Ruby spoke with a sweat sheen forehead "why don't they put up directions?"

"I know right!"

" _Ahem"_

The deliberate cough effectively stopped their back and forth causing them and everyone else to direct their gazes to the stage where the headmaster was situated.

" _I will make this brief…"_

 _After the speech_

"That was…weird" Ruby mumbled as she watched him go off stage.

"He has a point though"

The answer made her look to her new friend, somehow the glare from the returning lights obscured his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Well when you think about it everyone here really doesn't know what they're getting themselves into when they decide to become Hunters. Most of them just hear about their _successful_ exploits or are just brought by the council propaganda, Vytal festival fights, various championships or just the prestige of being one of 'humanity's savior.' Really they don't know what being a hunter is _really_ like."

He paused to take a glance around before his eyes landed on hers. Ruby involuntarily swallowed at the intense look he gave her, its like she was an insignificant speck and his eyes were as vast as the oceans of Remnant itself.

"Why did you want to become a Huntress?"

For a moment her voice hitched and she only managed to open her mouth, wider than she would have liked but it snapped shut when she was interrupted.

"Ruby!"

She turned to see her sister make her way over, her gait only slowed by the throng of people.

"I'll see you later Ruby"

She turned in time to see Jaune's bagpack pushing aside the people who complained only to receive a short apology. Eventually even it wasn't seen by the shorter teen and before she could call out to him Yang caught up.

"What happened to you? I was waiting forever and who was that guy with you?"

It took a moment for her to get her thoughts together and answer "that was Jaune, a new friend I made who was kind enough to help me find my way around after you and abandoned me and I EXPLODED!" she yelled the last line furiously.

Yang actually flinched "whoa meltdown already?"

"No I _literally_ exploded."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"I bumped into this crabby girl's luggage and then she started shaking Dust in my face, I sneezed and there was this-"

"YOU!"

"Oh god it's happening again!"

\

While most paid attention to the ensuing drama, Jaune was oblivious to the world around him _'that was way too close'_ Jaune thought looking behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed _'what the hell is she doing here? Oh wait she's a Huntress-in-training, why else would she be here!'_ he stressed _'okay, calm down Jaune Beacon is a big place so there's no guarantee you'll meet her again…except that she somehow knows Ruby whom you are now technically friends with…crap. Lord god in heaven do you hate me so…?"_

At that moment he bounced against something "hey watch it!"

' _I see you have given the usual answer'_

"Sorry" he mumbled absently not once stopping.

That is, until he was unceremoniously yanked back. He almost toppled over but saved himself.

"I don't think I heard that right"

After composing himself Jaune had to look up to put a face to the obnoxious voice. A boy his age(?) with burnt orange hair that must have been drowned in gel. He carried himself with confidence and from the muscles showing between his armor it was well earned. Plus there was that wicked looking mace attached at his hip.

*Flick*

"Ow" Jaune rubbed at his forehead.

"I'm still waiting for that apology four eyes"

Jaune fought the urge to both sigh and roll his eyes at the taller boy's superior display. It was obvious the guy had an ego the size of Beacon and as much as it would be prudent to 'put him in his place' Jaune really didn't want to start any trouble and mess up his chance at Beacon before he even started proper.

"I am sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going"

The boy scoffed "you should get those glasses fixed then" he laughed a little before shoving his way past him.

"A glasses joke, like I've never heard that before" he muttered.

He watched the boy as he walked and saw him sneer at a couple Faunus _'an example of everything wrong with Hunters'_

Jaune wasn't worried too much about him since guys like that don't last, even if he manages to make it in. He doesn't spell the type to graduate, maybe, then again he could be wrong. Jaune is the last person who should be judging a book by its cover.

Sighing he did an about face and resumed his exploration of the school. Since the damn place wasn't going to give him any directions he might as well start memorizing where he's about to go.

\

Night soon came and the halls were virtually packed with Beacon hopefuls which were divided in twos according to gender (or threes if that small huddle of Faunus is anything to indicate). Jaune himself had changed into a pair of blue pajama bottoms and a button up top.

Having been cornered by the headmistress herself (something he would very much like _not_ to repeat) and forced to relinquish his heavy looking bagpack and store his weapons in a locker Jaune was not in a very good mood.

Lying down on the sleeping bag his eyes were focused on a leatherback book as his fingers absently wrote on the pages. After a moment he closed the book and lay on his back.

Jaune started to think about what he was going to do tomorrow. It would be a bald faced lie to deny he was feeling nervous. He spent the majority of his time making some last minute adjustments for what is to come tomorrow.

With nothing else to do and not interested in watching girls in nightwear and the guys trying to impress them he went to his scroll to check the news.

The headline: _Notorious Thief Roman Torchwick Still At Large._

He gave a long suffering groan at this, he didn't even need to read the story since its probably filled with a list of his escapades and the half assed excuses of the incompetent VPD. He might be going a little hard on them since he's obviously above their paygrade but dammit! Dust was already expensive enough as it was before that guy started robbing shops.

Now he barely had any Lien left after buying a few vials. That just wouldn't do, not for when Dust was his primary source of combat.

 _'I didn't know it would be this bad'_

He'll have to either improvise or stumble on some Lien down the line.

His tongue clicked "probably have to get a part time job, great."

A sudden commotion gained his (as well as several other people's) attention. Apparently his new friend, a blonde girl, a brunette with an out-of-place bow and...Weiss Schnee?

 _'What's she doing in Beacon?'_

With her money and influence she could be enrolled at Atlas Academy.

That was a little troubling in it's own way.

' _She couldn't have remembered right?'_

After a moment Jaune shrugged, he wasn't about to attempt to try and delve into the mind of a wealthy heiress. Unfortunately, as much as he would've liked to jump in and defend his new friend.

"I am not pulling the pin on that grenade"

With those words he turned his back to the argument until the lights went out.

\

The following morning Jaune was regretting ever giving into the blonde professor. Especially since for some odd reason he can't fathom his locker was missing! Or more like rearrange what with the clusterfuck that is Beacon's numbering system.

 _'Next time I will kindly decline miss Goodwitch's suggestion on where to place_ _ **my**_ _belongings.'_

Oh sure he says that now but whether he will follow through is a different story.

He passed by Ruby and the blonde girl but they didn't seem to notice. Looking around he couldn't find it, in fact he's pretty sure he's in a different section altogether.

 _'Yeah no this great,_ _ **wonderful**_ _. Almost time to start initiation and they lost my stuff. I bet with my luck they'll somehow blame it on me.'_

He looked around _'the only thing I actually need is the Dust. Maybe someone could lend me some. Oh who am I kidding? With the prices this high there's no way that would work, they'd have to be like the richest person in...'_

He trailed off as his eyes found the form of Weiss Schnee, porcelain beauty, talented singer, heiress to the SDC who probably brought some of that sweet, sweet high quality Dust with her.

"Hm, hm" he hummed "it's a shot in the dark but I'm thinking she won't be susceptible to the ole Arc charm."

 _'Maybe Noah might be able to convince her…no nope, not going down that road.'_

Still Weiss looked like she was actually…being nice. Yeah its unfair to accuse her of that but he at least gets why she acted frosty but usually only people who get to know better see more and he has it on good authority that she doesn't really have any friends especially outside of Atlas which begs the question who could it be that would have someone like Weiss actually try to make an impression on- _'oh my god!'_

That fiery red hair, that bronze-plated armor _'it can't be, she's supposed to be in Mistral!'_

No matter how much he tried to mentally will it not to be there was no mistaken it, Weiss Schnee was speaking to Pyrrha Nikos. How either of them, not-so minor celebrities in their respective Kingdoms, could be attending Hunter school outside said Kingdoms without being a _single_ news about it was baffling to him.

' _Or maybe Beacon is just that good with their information security, or papa Schnee covered it up or Nikos has a very good publicist.'_

Either way it would be bad if they recognize him _'but just to be on the safe side I'mma avoid them'_

Then he saw a familiar set of numbers and looked to his scroll then back at the numbers...attached to the locker...directly behind two girls he'd rather not make contact with ever.

"That's just not fair" he muttered under his breath.

Then as if to solidify it Pyrrha's emerald orbs turned to stare directly at him and widened in recognition.

 _'Crap, crap-crap-crap'_

Unfortunately Weiss saw that her quarry's attention was diverted and sought to see who could had gotten her attention. Light blue eyes found ocean blue and narrowed as they look at him appraisingly.

 _'If there's a god out there he hates me.'_

As if it needed to be stated.

He took a calming breath "I, am a man."

Against his better judgment he approached them _'if any questions pop up I'll fake ignorance.'_

"Excuse me" he said politely to which Pyrrha stepped back a little.

He could feel their eyes on him as approached his locker and inputted the code. Thankfully Glynda Goodwitch's voice came over the intercom causing them to leave much to his releif. The locker door opened and he saw his weapons and Dust arranged in order. He honestly didn't know which one to choose because the initiation could involve any number of things.

' _I'll just take everything'_

With that he took a vial of each Dust type and put them in his modified bandolier and took up a metal box.

"Well I did make it for this specifically for this occasion" he mused before taking out its contents and putting it at the back of his waist concealed by his hoodie jacket. He also added a special pair of vembraces on each elbow and finally pulled his hood up to conceal his face.

' _Alright let's do thi-oh crap I am so late!'_

 _\_

As Ozpin gave out the instructions Jaune took a look around the forest then at the catapult he was currently standing on.

' _So just a bunch of kids launched into a Grimm infested forest with only a single direction to follow to a vague location…well it's not the worse I've had to deal with before'_ he looked at the underside of his vembrace _'now it's just a matter of picking who is the best to deal with this situation'_

*Sprong*

The first set of students were launched and Jaune stared for a while.

"Crap, okay eenie, meenie, miney, mo-AAAAAAAAAHHHHH"

Statistically speaking Jaune has dealt with much worse situations but it doesn't mean he's ever experienced being catapulted before.

' _Raiden! I'll let Raiden handle this'_ he thought frantically while trying to orient himself.

He brought the vembrace to his face and pressed the yellow button before going limp in the air for a moment while still tumbling through the air.

Then his lips smacked together and he yawned while stretching his arms "huh?"

He stared with half lidded eyes to see a white fairy skating on magic circles.

"Hmm~"

"WOOHOO!"

Another shout made his turn to see a fire dragon gliding through the air by shooting fire from its hands.

"This is the weirdest dream ever~" he said drowsily before orienting himself in a fetal position while resting his head on his hands "nighty night."

A gunshot and something whizzing through the air made him open one eye, just in time to see a javelin heading towards him.

"Hmm" he hummed before snapping his fingers "oh initiation right"

Orienting himself again he caught the javelin and dragged along its momentum with a gleeful smile "wee~"

He twisted midair to avoid getting stuck to the tree and braced his feet for impact which managed dig a crater before he jumped and twisted his body to counter the force of inertia and friction.

"Whoever threw this is _really_ strong" then he got a good look at the javelin

" _I'm Sorry!"_ a distant voice yelled

He looked at the javelin then the voice

*Gears Turning*

"…nope!"

He twirled once and cocked his arm back "THAT'S OKAY! I THINK YOU DROPPED THIS!"

And he launched the javelin, the action followed with a crack of thunder so loud that a flock of birds flew from the trees.

\

A few moments earlier…

Pyrrha braced herself with shield at the front as she crashed through several branches to slow her momentum before tucking into a roll onto a thick branch. Milo had already entered its rifle form upon touching down and she hastily began checking her surroundings. The Grimm could be lurking anywhere and its best to be safe than sorry.

That thought all but derailed when she heard a scream cut through the air. Her scoped vision turned to see a person tumbling through the air. She ignored the obvious question of why and thought fast. Milo spun into its javelin form and she took aim, about the same time she saw him go limp.

*Bang*

The javelin was launched with a gun blast for an extra boost and during the short interval before it connected with (hopefully) his hood and he disappeared beyond the trees, she could have sworn he reached out and grabbed it. With a bit of Aura to her ears she listened for the inevitable impact but instead of a _thunk_ into a tree bark there was an impact of a body hitting the ground.

She winced _'how could I have missed?'_

Pyrrha didn't claim to be a sharpshooter but she was undeniably close and she's made accurate shots on smaller moving targets before.

"I'm Sorry!" she shouted and prepared to climb down and find the person only to freeze when a voice shouted back.

" _THAT'S OKAY! I THINK YOU DROPPED THIS!"_

Standing up straight she flinched at the sound of thunder but then ducked with shield in front when something came flying in her general direction.

*BOOM*

Pyrrha looked behind to see a huge chunk of the tree she was currently on the branch of, gone and followed a trajectory of sorts to see Milo halfway buried in a small crater with what looks like static discharging around it.

\

Still looking up where he threw the javelin the hooded teen scratched his cheek "oops I may have overdone it. I really hope I didn't destroy that thing or else Jaune is gonna have hell for that" his head perked and he turned in a particular direction "hm?"

 _Meanwhile_

Weiss had her weapon drawn and pointed at where she had heard someone yell then that ungodly sound caught her unawares and she saw _something_ fly through the air literally like lightning. As interesting as it would be to see who could have done that she had only one person she was interested in partnering with, Pyrrha Nikos and she'd already wasted an opportunity by running into-

"Any idea what that was?"

Her scarred eye twitched but she held back the sharp retort and reply with a simple "no I do not"

"Then let's check it out" the girl walked forward.

Weiss on the other hand turned in the opposite direction, if she wants to go play detective then that is her concern. Who knows maybe that person who yelled could be her partner and they would put that whole 'meeting' behind them.

The sound of grass being crushed under foot was the only warning she got before a Beowolf lunged at her. Time seemed to slow as wide frightened blue eyes stared into burning red, the Beowolf's maw opened wide to take a bite of her face, her heartrate increased, her life flashed before her eyes and just when it was mere inches from her delicate features

*Bang*

The Grimm's eye blew apart and it was knocked aside, breaking the moment, and leaving a slightly trembling heiress panting for breath while trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.

There was the sound of a rifle cocking and a shout "look out!"

With adrenaline making her hyperaware Weiss managed to duck a swipe and slash at the back of its knee while dive rolling forward. The Grimm went down with a yelp the same time Weiss got into a half kneeling position and prepared to launch with a thrust right through its heart only to gape when a rose colored blur decapitated it.

The moment she landed however she did a reverse twirl of her weapon using the end to deflect a swipe upward and nailing the offending Beowolf under the chin so that her blade stuck out its mouth. With a smirk she pulled the trigger, blowing a hole in its torso and ripping the head off at the same using the recoil to extend her so that she could bring down her scythe on the next Beowolf foolhardy enough to get close to her.

*Crunch*

The Grimm's head was slammed into the grass and Ruby pulled her weapon from the dissipating corpse to regard the kneeling heiress.

"Are you alright?"

This seemed to knock her out of her suspense of disbelief "I-I am alright" she said standing up to regain some of her lost dignity.

' _I may have underestimated her'_ Weiss thought, now reevaluating what she knew of the girl.

The relative ease with which she out down those Grimm were admittedly impressive and her finesse while not nearly as polish as her own was admirable for a girl her age.

This mental evaluation was cut short by the arrival of three more Beowolves, Ruby got ready to intercept but then a white blur shot forward, the Beowolf roared and made to slash her with its claws only to hit air as a glyph appeared under her feet and she catapulted into an elegant corkscrew just above its head and stuck the tip of her rapier into the back of its neck and injecting just directly into it.

The result was for its head to pop off its body like the cork off a wine bottle.

Weiss on the other hand twisted her body to and created a small glyph which she jumped off to avoid a midair claw swipe and landed two explosive slashes against its back causing it to stumble forward but stooped a did a backhand swing to which Weiss ducked, spun and slash its throat.

Weiss stood before it with her back turned and flicked her rapier of the vile Grimm blood while said Grimm gagged on its neck before ultimately collapsing.

"Whoa" was all Ruby could say with silver eyes the size of saucers "that was so-"

"Roar!"

"Eep!"

To her credit Ruby went to block and deflect but found the move unneeded as the Beowolf was frozen in a block of ice.

"Don't dawdle" Weiss warned as she engaged more of the pack.

With red staining her cheeks Ruby muttered "right sorry" then she proceeded to decapitate the trapped Grimm and join in on the carnage.

' _And that makes us even'_ Weiss thought stabbing through a Grimm and freezing its insides.

 _Meanwhile_

Slowly poking his head above the bushes the hooded man thought _'well it looks like they have everything under control here, wouldn't want to interrupt this girl bonding session. They're kinda like our sisters'_

"Hey watch where you're swinging that thing, you dolt!"

"Crescent Rose is not a _thing_ , you-you princess!"

"It's Heiress!"

'… _exactly like our sisters'_

He backed away from the fight while cupping his chin "now which way is north again?" he looked around and scratched his head before bopping his forehead "Raiden you dummy" and took his _handy, dandy lucky compass_ "alright let's see, north is…that way"

He pointed in the direction of an oversized Beowolf that growled menacingly at him to which he shook his head "nonono the ones killing your friends are over there" he pointed.

The Beowolf barred its teeth and growled in response.

"You sure you want to do this?"

It began advancing.

"Sorry, thanks" he got in a running position "but no thanks" his emerald eyes sparked with lightning.

*ZAP*

The next thing the Alpha knew was that it was tossed head over heels into the battered clearing in a slightly singed and crumpled heap.

"I got it!"

"It's mine!"

Were the two simultaneous yells before both girls lunged. The Grimm managed to get off a last whimper before it knew no more.

\

Ren took his time heading in the direction of where he heard the crack of thunder. Knowing Nora's Semblance it's a pretty safe bet that she's involved somehow. Well probably not but it beats wandering around the forest and there also a good chance he'll meet her there anyway, she's attracted to anything that's loud and spells trouble.

 ***SSS~***

Speaking of trouble.

Ren paused eyes drifted about to spot the stalking Grimm though it was unnecessary as said Grimm revealed itself. The King Taiju coiled around his immediate area to block off all escape routes. Ren simply went into a combat stance, the snake Grimm struck like lightning but Ren was faster and with a front flip catapulted from the ground to the top of its head and pushed off hard causing it to eat grass.

Not deterred in the least the King Taiju pursued Ren who was backflipping to gain some distance. He cartwheeled to the side several times when the serpent felt itself close enough resulting in two lunges smack dab into the dirt. The failed strikes seemed to be minor inconveniences to the Grimm that remained unfazed if not enraged at its failure.

This was evident when the third lunge had Ren getting blown back by the force of the latest crash, twisting his body in a haphazard corkscrew to land with his heels digging into the grass. Before he could move however the Grimm coiled around him in loops creating a high wall of black scales.

Ren's eyes narrowed _'hand-to-hand combat just won't do anymore'_

Unclenching his fist his trusty weapons Stormflower slid from his coat sleeves, the familiar grip fit snugly into his hand just in time for the King Taiju to peer down the narrow hole, intent on swallowing its now trapped prey. Only for it to be peppered with a hail of dust bullets and with a hiss it retreated opting to crush him instead.

Ren leapt out of the stranglehold a moment before it closed and kicked off the coiled body to do a corkscrew jump making it so that his head was parallel to the Grimm's own all the while he continued to fire. At the apex of his ascent though his legs parted in a mid air cartwheel, tilting his body to the left so as to avoid a lunge.

The King Taiju instead received a spinning back kick for its trouble. One with enough force to push them both away but while the now disoriented Grimm landed in a heap Ren gracefully hit the grass, skidding a little from the force of his own attack. Then he was on the move again and before the Grimm could properly orient itself Ren struck, carving a shallow gash that bled profusely to the soft base of its head.

The Grimm gave an indignant hiss before rearing back to strike. Ren leapt over the charge as the Grimm yet again as the Grimm ate dirt but this time he descended on top of it before it could recover. The gash he carved at the side of its head was made even deeper and for good measure he emptied the rest of his already depleted clip point blank into the wound. The end result was its head barely hanging on by the flesh of its scales

Ren stayed crouched as he waited, taking the time to reload. A hiss was all he needed to hear as he turned with both guns aimed and ready to fire. Unfortunately he would not have the opportunity to pull the trigger.

" _~here I come to save the daaaaaay~"_

The voice sang and for a moment a barely noticeable smile appeared as there was only one person he knew to be so childish. Then he realized it was a man's voice and-

*BZZT*

' _Magnhild doesn't cut'_ he thought watching the figure as it decapitated the white King Taiju head and land in a crouch before immediately getting up.

"Man is this thing cool or what?" he spoke holding up a hardlight sword humming with yellow crackling energy.

Ren took the time to admire the piece of no doubt advance technology. He'd heard about hardlight but it was the first time he's seen one before.

Truly it was "impressive" he agreed before Stormflower disappeared under his sleeve leaving the stranger to gape.

"Not as impressive as _that_ " the hardlight sword disappeared into the handle "how'd you fit a sickle-gun up your sleeves anyway? Is it a Semblance? That would explain how you didn't slit your wrists just now. Does it mechashift into something smaller? No then I would've heard it" at this point he was musing to himself than actually asking then he paused "or are you just _that_ good?"

Ren allowed a small half smirk, something he didn't think he would pull off so soon in Beacon and- well he _is_ that good.

"…nice" the hooded stranger nodded sagely "um…uh…"

And just like that the smirk left "Lie Ren" he introduced.

"Sweet I'm Jaune Arc" he pulled down the hood to reveal spiked yellow-blonde hair and shining emerald eyes that held a childish glee as well as a smile that reflected as much "and I only reserve this for my family or besties but since you're my new partner you can call _me_ Raiden."

Ren raised an eyebrow at that, this boy was so much like Nora it was almost disturbing _'could he be a long lost relative?'_

Shaking the thoughts he replied "alright then Raiden."

Suddenly Raiden was in his personal space "seriously though, see this face?" he pointed at his face more specifically his eyes and hair " _I'm_ Raiden, don't get it confused please."

"…understood?"

"Great!" he pulled back up his hood "Well come on Lie lets gooooo~" he eyed his 'lucky compass' then pointed dramatically "this way!"

"Everyone just calls me Ren" he supplied.

"Oh that makes so much sense. No offense but 'Lie' is a really weird first name, I swear you could make so many puns and one-liners like I could say 'you lie!' and then you can say something like 'yes, I am. Your point'? Hah!" Raiden laughed

Ren was tempted to chuckle if only because the hyperactive boy did such a good impression of his monotone almost detached voice, but held it.

Despite not being his first choice Raiden came a close second to being the ideal partner he was searching for.

' _I hope Nora has the same luck'_

\

Nora was having a ***SMASH*** -ing time as she rode her trusty steed to the humming tune of 'Ride of the Valkyrie'

"High-ho birdie, AWAY!"

"Nora Wait!"

 ***SMASH***

 ***BOOM***

" **SCREEEEEEECCCHH"**

The shout came from her knew partner and the Chosen One Pyrrha Nikos who valiantly hung onto her steed, not that the orange hair would have expected any less of the one to wield 'the sword in the stone'

Ah she remembered it like it was a few minutes ago

 _*Memory Harp*_

 **A Few minutes Ago…**

 _ **BOOM**_

 _Nora's ears perked and she stopped her skipping to regard the direction where she heard the oh-so familiar sound of thunder._

 _She looked up at the cloudless sky "thunder on a sunny day" she blinked then a grin etched onto her face before she made a b-line for it._

 _Who needs a sloth call when you could just unleash thunder on a sunny day 'I'mma comin' Renny!'_

 _Nora didn't consider how Ren could pull something like that off or why because "He's Ren" and "he'll always find a way"_

 _So it was to her disappointment when she didn't find her bestest friend but instead a bronze and red spear imbedded in a rock formation. Almost immediately her disappointment vanished in the face of this mysterious object. She appeared before it in a flash, inspected it and even touched it._

 _*Zap*_

 _The slight electrical discharge sent a tingling sensation down her spine. Her Semblance activated on reflex and what should have made her recoil only invigorated her, if only slightly but it was enough for her to get a more firm grasp on the weapon. Then as she finally made the decision to pull it up and claim 'The One Spear' it was suddenly outlined in black then ripped from her grasp and into the gloved outstretched hand of a fiery red hair maiden._

 _Nora stared at the girl then the spear, then the girl, then the sword_

" _Hello" the girl greeted._

And that was how she met her new partner.

And how they ended up on a Nevermore you ask? Heh-heh-heh well funny story about that-

 _ **A few minutes ago…**_

" _Pyr-Pyr look!"_

"Nora I see other people!"

' _That's not how the story goes'_

"I think those are the ruins down there!"

Oh she wasn't having a flashback anymore

"Aw…"

"Nora!"

"Okay-okay I'm on it" she went onto a half crouched position and started caressing the feathers "alright Jack Sparrow I'm gonna need you land right there okay baby?" she cooed over the winds.

Pyrrha looked at her partner nonplussed _'she can't be serious!?'_

The Nevermore must have thought the same because it gave an infuriated sqawk before banking left.

"Whoa~ there Jack" she said like it was a horse before speaking once more in a 'baby voice' "now Jack you better do as I ask or else mama's going to have to bring down the hammer" she unfurled her grenade launcher into a warhammer " _capisce_?" she ended threateningly in a sweet voice.

"Nora I don't think that will work!" Pyrrha yelled.

To the redhead's shock the Grimm actually started tolandgracefully.

Nora gave her partner a smug look "see Pyr-Pyr sometimes all you have to do is let them know who is-Ah!"

Her speech was cut as the Nevermore suddenly divebombed.

"You were saying!?" Pyrrha said hanging on for dear life as she saw the ground coming closer with deathly accuracy.

Nora chuckled in response "Jack~" he practically sang while raising her hammer with a 'slasher smile' " **Heel!** "

And with that she brought the hammer down right on the poor creature's head and made sure to pull the trigger for a point blank grenade shot that se it off course.

"Jump" the Spartan yelled before she and her (insane) partner chuck off onto a rool on the grass.

They along with the other two initiates watched as the massive Grimm skipped along the ground in huge tons before eventually rolling off the mountain a ways away from the bridge.

"St~rike" Nora fist pumped but slumped "aw I like him" she sniffed and saluted "you shall forever be remembered my trusty Jack Armagail Sparrow, may your flight be long in the heavens-OOH!"

And in the blink of an eye she appeared before the Queen chess piece and began dancing a jig while singing. Pyrrha could only smile wryly at the display before turning to the two gawking girls.

"Hello" she greeted happily.

The girls didn't say anything before the one wearing a bow spoke "did you just ride on a Nevermore?"

Pyrrha smiled and opened her mouth only for Nora to beat her to the punch "yep! Pyrrha was all worried but what did I tell you?" she wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders "we saved time and energy by switching to Nevermore express"

"You rode a Nevermore!?" Raiden shouted suddenly from beside them

"Ah!"

"Whoa!"

"Holy Hell!"

Were the separate screams as everyone jumped except Nora.

Raiden continued "that is so cool" he looked onto the girl with sparkling eyes.

The orange haired girl brushed her knuckles against her chest "well it wasn't such a big deal"

"Aw what a rip!" he kicked the grass a little "I tried to tell _my_ partner the same thing with that Ursa but he said no" somehow you could _hear_ the pout in his childish voice.

"Did that guy just teleport beside us without any of us noticing?"

The hyperactive glanced at Blake when Nora said "I noticed"

"And I didn't teleport" he insisted "I just ran _really_ fast."

"Did you come alone" Pyrrha questioned.

"Nope" Raiden answered without sparing a glance at the redhead "my partner is over there" he pointed between some thick bushes that rustles before Ren stumbled out "speak of the Grimm."

"Raiden" he called out

"Renny!" Nora yelled

"Nora?" he said before bracing himelf for the inevitable tackling glomp.

"Raiden!" appeared between them causing even Nora to jump slightly at his sudden appearance.

"Hey~ that's my thing" the girl complained but it fell on deaf ears as the hooded boy turned to his partner "hey!"

"Look what I got" he held up the Queen chess piece that was like the one Nora was _still_ wearing on her head like a crown "so I guess we're on the same team as your girlfriend huh?" he proclaimed for all to hear

Two faint blushes appeared on the childhood friend's cheek "we're not together-together!" Nora yelled flustered.

Raiden turned to her then to him before saying in a deadpan "I don't believe you" and before she could flounder for an answer he continued turning back to her "so who's your partner?"

With the change of topic Nora pointed behind her "Pyr-Pyr, say hi Pyrrha"

"Hello again" the redhead waved.

Raiden looked at the waving redhead, the chess piece on Nora's head, the one in his hand, Ren, Nora then the ruins where he got them from with a single thought which accumulated after a few seconds of standing still _'nope!'_

"Whelp I've always wanted a pony"

Before he could rush off though something grabbed his shoulder with an iron grip. He woodenly turned to look at Nora whos face was bitch black except for her glowing white eyes and gulped

" **There are no take backs in** _ **my**_ **kingdom** "

Raiden could only make a wounded puppy whine.

"WOULD EVERYONE JUST CALM THE HELL DOWN BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS!?" Yang exploded literally in flames much to Blake and Pyrrha's astonishment.

At that moment the trees started to shake violently in the distance and they got closer before a red and white blur shot out of the forest followed by a giant Deathstalker that made everyone stare.

"Does that count as crazy!?" Nora yelled pointing at the scorpion Grimm.

The girl skidded to a stop while letting go of her partner's hand

"Ruby!"

She held up her finger "jus-just give me a sec. I-I never ran so fast...in my life"

Weiss collapsed to her hands and knees trying her best not to throw up "why… _why_ did you make such erratic movements around the trees?"

"S-serpentine movement…helps throw enemies off-OOF!" Yang took the opportunity to envelope her into a bear hug

"I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Yang~"

"Uh I hate to disturb this moment but there is a _Deathstalker coming right at us!_ " Blake stressed.

Everyone turned to the incoming Grimm with various degrees of wariness but only Ren somehow had the tact to suggest the obvious "we should leave."

"NO!" Raiden's eyes shined "you denied me the right to ride that Ursa Ren, you shall not deny me this!" he released his hardlight sword.

Everyone gawked a little at the humming blade with Ruby gazing upon it reverently "that is so cool"

"Thanks" he said brightly before turning seriously to the Deathstalker.

"Jaune no" Ren tried to placate

But with lightning in his eyes he shouted " _Raiden_ Yes!" he shot off in a charge of lightning trailing his frame while doing a weird warcry "lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo"

At the last minute he jumped twenty feet in the air and came down in an overhead swing, the Deathstalker struck upwards with its stinger. For a moment the spectators looked at the scene and idly thought it would have made an epic piece of art of Huntsman vs Grimm. Then at the last few seconds of contact Raiden suddenly started flailing for no apparent reason. Whatever it was the Grimm took advantage and smacked him aside hard enough for to bounce off the grass and rolled a few yards away.

"Jaune!" Ruby yelled.

Ren on the other hand had already ran after him and Nora of course followed after with Pyrrha bringing up the rear "Nora distract it!"

"On it!" her warhammer turned into grenade launcher and she started lobbing the pink explosives at the Grimm.

It worked and the behemoth started making its way towards the pinkette much to her glee "you hurt Renny's partner, you _die!_ Come on Pyr-Pyr"

The red head spared a glance at the hooded boy before turning Milo into a rifle form.

"We have to help them!" Ruby said as the four girls watched from the sidelines.

In response to the young girl Yang's bracelets unfurled into shot-gauntlets and Blake detached Gambol Shroud from her back.

Finally composing herself Weiss huffed but then rolled her eyes at their expectant/skeptical look "fine, we'll help them" she managed to unsheathe Myrtenaster before a guttural squawk sounded from the rest of the ruins "what was that?"

"No way" Yang muttered.

Then like a dolphin Jack Sparrow rose from the pits of the abyss and soared across the sky.

"Jack Sparrow, you're alive!"

At the yell the Nevermore fired a volley of arrows of feathers at the duo (Nora), somehow missing the Deathstalker entirely.

"We have to get that thing away from them" Ruby shouted as the four made their way into the carnage.

"And how do you suggest we do that!" Weiss shouted.

"By giving it a new target" Yang's replied was followed a few Dust powered shotgun blasts.

Ruby joined in with a few well placed sniper shots with Blake joining and after a while Weiss started shooting concentrated Dust. An ice blast managed to hit under its belly while it was distracted and a sniper bullet bounced off its bone mask before it gave the girls any attention.

"Okay we got its attention, now what?" Blake said backing away.

Thinking fast Ruby spared a look to Ren and Jaune before looking across the stone bridge "follow me"

\

"Raiden…alright?"

Disorientation, blurred vision, nausea accompanied by a tingly almost electrifying feeling shooting up his spine in the most uncomfortable of ways.

No he was most certainly not alright.

"Where…"

"We need to go, they won't be able to distract it for much longer" the voice said pulling him up "the others are already combating the Nevermore."

' _What?'_

Blinking a few times the boy pulled off the hood and almost winced.

"Raiden…"

Reaching into his hoodie took out a pair of glasses "please, call me Jaune."

Ren could only stare at his partner as if he were a complete stranger.

Said stranger extended his hand "sorry I was hoping to meet you in less dire circumstances um..."

"Lie Ren" he said distractedly and shook his hand still staring.

"Right and you are my partner?"

"...yes"

"Oh okay" he nodded a little "so what's going on?"

Ren only got the chance to open his mouth before there was a loud *thump* and Pyrrha crashed at their feet.

"That" was Ren's only reply.

"Oh wow this is actually happening" Jaune said a little breathlessly while taking out his scroll "at least I still have some Aura" around 20% that's not so bad.

' _Geez Raiden what did you do?'_

His Aura should _not_ be so low for a simple trek unless…

The moment Pyrrha started getting up Jaune pulled his hood up "are you alright?"

"Yes…well no not really" he winced while holding his side "I don't think I'm fit to fight" he held up his scroll to show his Aura almost in red.

At her crestfallen look he lowered the Scroll "don't worry I have a plan" he began explaining as he went for some Dust in his bandolier "lucky for us it's just a Deathstalker. Very big, tough shell but easy to beat if you know what you're doing, ah-ha" he held up a vial of blue Dust "could you ask your friend if I could borrow one of her grenades?"

"What are you planning?"

"I'm going to make an ice Dust bomb to trap the Deathstalker so you can kill it."

"Nora!" Ren yelled after his friend.

There was an explosion and Nora landed before them, a bit winded but otherwise fine "that Deathstalker is really tough but I think I'm wearing him down."

They very much doubted that.

"Can I have one of your grenades please?"

"Why?"

"I'm going to mix it with this Dust so I can trap the Grimm"

"How?"

"By-"

"Just give him a grenade Nora" Ren interrupted taking shots at the rampaging Deathstalker.

Everyone scattered with Jaune lagging behind "I need time make this can you keep it busy for a few minutes"

"Roger!"

"Understood."

Ren simply nodded and made to leave but Jaune stopped him "I figure out of all of them you would be the fastest, am I right" a nod was his answer "then I need you try and loosen its stinger. Sorry but you'll have to somehow get close enough to cut it" the watched as the stinger aimed for Pyrrha but missed though it managed to gouge out a crater.

The action made both boys wince but Ren simply sighed and went ahead, Stormflower slipped from his sleeves. With him gone Jaune rushed for cover in the ruins and went to work emptying out the custom made pink explosive Dust (why pink?) and replacing it with the ice Dust without setting the thing off. It wasn't hard to do, combat may be beyond him at the moment but Dust and all its applications was something he personally studied.

With a grin he shot up out of cover "I'm done!" he yelled then ducked when Ren's body was tossed his way and into the wall "are you okay?"

"No~"

"Point taken I'll be right back" he ran out and towards the Grimm "Girls could you move out of the way."

Heeding his warning the girls retreated to his side as Jaune pumped Aura into the canister before rolling it on the ground like a bowling ball towards the rampaging Grimm. Unnoticed by the creature the canister rolled underneath it before exploding into a frozen geyser that half trapped the Grimm. Most of the bottom half, its legs and long tail were trapped in ice and its body lifted off the ground leaving only part of the carapace free.

"Pyrrha"

The redhead snapped from her daze and glanced to see him pointing ahead at the half frozen but dangling stinger to which she nodded "right!" and tossed her shield at it.

The shield must have been tossed hard because it shattered the ice surrounding it and caused the stinger to fall on top of the shell. At that point the Deathstalker began struggling with cracks beginning to show in its prison.

Jaune however was calm as he turned back to the redhead in time for her to catch her shield "can you give Nora a lift so she could hammer the stinger through the outer shell" he turned to the grenadier "you need to go high and come down hard"

"Okey dokey!" she skipped towards Pyrrha who crouched down low on the shield and jumped on so that it looked like she was sitting on her warhammer.

At the same time Pyrrha jumped Nora pulled the trigger and explosion propelled her impossibly high into the air and towards the struggling Deathstalker.

Jaune took out his 'relic' before muttering "checkmate"

Another explosion and the valkyrie came down and smashed the singer into the Deathstalker like a nail in a board, the impact was so much that there was a gust of wind and to top it off she released a point blank explosion into te now partially exposed exoskeleton causing its face to implode. Nora intentionally let the force knock her back so she could do a midair summersault and finish off with a three point landing.

"Ta-da!"

A winded Ren holding his side came up to their side and Jaune slung his arm over his shoulder to keep him from collapsing "just returning the favor partner" the boy chuckled at that.

"Hey check it out!" Nora yelled

Everyone turned in time to watch as the Nevermore was dragged along up the side of the cliff by Ruby as she accelerated up the side of the cliff with the help of Weiss' Glyphs. The Nevermore sported several scorch marks and broken wing thanks to an arrow made of ice lodged in its wing. A moment later and with a yell of effort ruby managed to behead the beast at the same time she reached the top, landing gracefully as her cape seemed to leak rose petals that swirled around her person.

Jaune could only stare in awe at the spectacle.

Beside him Nora slung Ren's other arm around her shoulder and scoffed "psh our plan was way better"

Both boys gave her look and Jaune couldn't help but think _'what do you mean 'our' plan?'_

"We did manage to take down that Deathstalker first" Pyrrha surprisingly commented, a bit of her competitiveness shining through an almost devious smirk.

The boys shared a look and Jaune half shrugged "it _was_ more efficient"

"And less strenuous" Ren added looking specifically at a collapsed Weiss and Ruby and Jaune could agree with that.

They however completely overlooked the two girls who actually did most of the work who was staring at _them_.

 _Men_

\

After the teams were assembled, named and allocated to different rooms with JNPR being literally across from RWBY (Jaune suspected foul play) they were confronted with a problem. Or rather Jaune was confronted with a problem and that problem was the fact that he was now on a team…not even to mention that he was a leader but the fact that he had to now share his living space, meals, class and battles with a group of strangers.

Now the question remains, should he tell them or not?

Jaune didn't really know and he could really use some council on the subject but the only ones who could help him was _them_ and it's not like he could just huff a bunch of Dust and get their input even if he _could_.

He sighed _'why can't it be like in those cartoons where they have a huge round table and make wild comments all the time'_

This wasn't a cartoon however and even if such a thing was possible he didn't think his brain would be able to take it.

"What's wrong fearless leader?"

That made him pause and regard one of his newest teammates and his partner's best friend "it's nothing Nora" he assured.

"Are you sure? You didn't seem well during the assembly"

Jaune winced at that "it's an after effect of using my Semblance" he made sure to turn away and find the bathroom before they could question him further.

He gave his partner a sideways glance, he out of everyone might be the closest to figuring out what was happening and Jaune was grateful the man kept it to himself. Inside the bathroom Jaune let the faucet run and washed his face before taking two pills.

He wasn't lying about his deteriorating health being a side effect of his Semblance.

"Why couldn't I have a simpler Semblance, like making defensives shields from Aura or something?" his reflection provided no answer, only a weary expression on a pale face.

He's not selling his Semblance short, it really is unique, diverse and powerful in its own right but at the same time cumbersome and his _condition_ doesn't make it any better.

He shook his head _'on second thought I think I'll wait before telling them'_

Yeah that sounds like the best for now, he'll wait and if he deems them trustworthy enough then he'll tell them _that_ and if not…he'll just cross that bridge after he reaches it.

"Are you done in there?" Nora banged.

"Just a second!"

' _Besides I can survive here for a semester without help…maybe my luck will take a turn for the better…hopefully.'_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Well what do you think? I admit I liked the appeal of the original being away from Beacon** **and the idea of an** _ **actual**_ **older Jaune attracting the interest of the older cast of single women but that fell flat because of the order I chose to start with and…lack of information plus other reasons I won't go into.**

 **Plus I wanted to go in a whole other direction with this one so I nixed the idea of having a council room where all the personalities would talk to each other and can switch at will. Circumstances are now different, Jaune is different and his Semblance is also different and a lot more complicated than you'd think. Hence the change in name.**

 **On another note I have been toying with the idea of just creating an individual section for all the stories and just updating each of them at my leisure instead of having them all in one place.**

 **What do you guys think?**


	7. Announcement

**Author's Announcement: well after much deliberation I've decided to publish 'The Grimm King' as a separate story by itself due to popular demand, I'll probably do the same thing with 'A Not So Common Criminal' but I see that story as something much longer so I'll continue writing and see where it goes from there.**

 **So you can go ahead and follow that for the exclusive updates now or whenever it shows up on Fanfiction.**


	8. The Strain

**The Strain**

' _I don't like this.'_

As a soldier Winter Schnee didn't claim like to have seen it all, being a woman who grew up in a very controlled environment with more money, status and servants than she cared for she could say that she's only scratched the surface in terms of worldly experience. However she'd like to think that her training covered her lack of experience with gut instincts. It's been tried and tested to a degree where she knew a bad situation when she felt it in her gut.

But this, what she's feeling now was borderline nausea without the disorienting movements or sick vision. It's as if the sheer proximity to it was flipping her insides about despite the smooth bullhead ride. And the cause of her problems was sitting right before her, strapped down near the doors like any heavy duty cargo.

Winter knew better though and judging by the distance the men put under her control are, she's not the only one. That was a good thing, at least she knew she wasn't just being paranoid but the giddy scientists typing away on their tablets or discussing it didn't bring her any comfort.

See, since she was in charge of protecting those idiots, she had to stay close in case something happens. The real kicker was she _knew_ something was going to happen because she knew it was a very bad idea to take that thing aboard their bullhead. Her instincts would flare up if she got within 50 feet of it.

She would have warned them, in fact she did _advise_ them not to bring that thing too close but her warnings fell on deaf ears, in fact she remembered one of them saying _"we don't pay you to think, we pay you to point and shoot things so why don't you leave the_ _ **thinking**_ _to the professionals."_

Oh yeah that got a round of laughs from the other white coats and being the professional she was Winter decided to drop the matter. It looks like being the daughter of the man funding this operation or being the Specialist their boss commissioned to be in charge of guarding their lives didn't score any points with them.

Either way didn't matter because usually while the SDC was a private corporation with their own army this time they got the Atlas Military involved in a joint operation, in fact she was personally commissioned by General Ironwood himself to ensure the safety of the scientist and the… _cargo_.

The cargo was a single item, an item being a large sarcophagus that frankly unnerved him. It had the face of a wailing man at the front and intricate carving sprawled all over the body that was, from an abstract point of view, very artistic. Yet that was overshadowed by the pure fact that the markings on the sarcophagus she recognized almost at once.

Since it was, in fact, similar to the ones branded on the face of every Grimm she's ever fought. Of course this fact seemed to make the scientists even more excited at the prospect of studying it and to be fair Winter was curious too. This was the earliest evidence of anything relating to the Grimm anyone's ever uncovered.

The white coats determined it dated back _at least_ 2000 years ago.

The bullhead suddenly jerked shaking her from her thoughts. Turbulence finally began, slow at first before turning rocky like driving off road in sports car. This continued for a few minutes until the entire ship was rattling. So much so that one of the scientist began complaining loudly about the 'bloody turbulence'.

Then Winter heard _it_ "stop!" he ordered the woman.

"E-excuse me? Who do you-"

"Shh!" she shushed loudly leaning forward with eyes on the massive coffin.

There was a silence save for the rumbling of the ship as curiosity got the better of her and everyone's sight lined with her own. Through the rattling of the bullhead and equipment they too heard it. Faint at first but with some concentration they heard it.

Scratching noises coming from the sarcophagus.

"T-that's impossible" The same woman stuttered fearfully.

"Get away from the coffin!" Winter ordered as the scratching noises got louder.

*BAM*

That sealed it, all the white coats scampered away and the soldiers had their rifles trained on the shaking tomb. Winter on the other hand swore mentally and made her way to the cockpit.

"Land the bullhead now!"

The pilots were more than startled by the intrusion and urgency of their commander's voice "m-ma'am?"

"Whatever is in that coffin is trying to come out and I don't want a full scale battle on this ship while we are in the air, now land the Bullhead this instant soldier!"

"Y-yes ma'am"

As they prepped for landing the turbulence increased and alarms started blaring.

"Specialist Schnee!" a shout made her turn to see the panic stricken blonde scientist.

Winter excused herself from the room and gave the woman her full attention "what happened?"

"The noises stopped" she elaborated "you don't have to land the ship."

She wanted to say _"I don't give a damn"_ but that would be highly unprofessional so she instead replied "that may be but for safety purposes-"

Before she could speak the co-pilot spoke "ma'am I'm picking up multiple bogies on radar."

This caught _both_ their attentions and they both reentered the room and looking forward they could see a storm cloud.

Winter took a step forward to get a better look "what on Remnant?"

She had only a few moments to discern what the multiple silhouetted shapes in the night sky were before another wave of panic set in.

*Screech*

The bodies of several hundred small Nevermores slammed into the Bullhead with so much force that the windows, made out of hardened Plexiglas, instantly broke. Winter used her body to shield the scientist and quickly shut the door behind them.

"What just-"

Winter didn't hear her as training took over and she immediately went into the cockpit to implement the protocol put in place in case of an aerial assault by Grimm of this magnitude "CODE RED BETA!" he shouted

To her pride the soldiers didn't dawdle and went for their parachute each of them making sure the scientists had one including Winter herself who hauled the woman near a parachute and dressed her while ignoring her complaints.

He saw some of the more dedicated men going near the coffin "leave it!"

"But ma'am-"

There was an explosion and a sudden jolt before everyone floated and slammed into the ceiling. Winter managed to orient herself a split second so she landed feet first on the ceiling and a small glyph appeared to keep her cemented but swore when she realized the plane was diving fast. If that wasn't bad enough another explosion rocked the bullhead making everyone but her fly every which way.

A short moment later the hull was breached, ripped off, taking a chunk of the wall with it. Winter grabbed the nearest scientist, the blonde, and used her Semblance to anchor them to the ground, she herself didn't have a chute but that was of no consequence. A few of them she saw get sucked through the hole, some had chutes others didn't.

The goal was for each soldier to tie themselves to a scientist and dive out together to ensure a safe landing, after all their safety is top priority. Looking up he saw the two men hanging on the sturdy straps of the sarcophagus. The Bullhead spun almost making her break concentration on the glyph when the scientist was nearly wrenched out of her grip. She crouched low, pumped more Aura into her glyph for a stronger effect over a small area and while she did the gaping hole claimed a chuteless soldier.

Looking between her struggling men, a chute on the wall close to her and the scientist, she made a decision. She looked the scientist in the eye as she positioned her back to the hole, the wind whipped about.

"I will find you" she shouted above the wind and before the woman could properly reply she pulled the chute, it caught wind and she was yanked out the hole.

With that done she grabbed the other chute, turned to the men before running along the walls to reach them and jumped to land on the sarcophagus "here"

The man tried to take it but there was a shift which loosened his grip and he pulled by the winds. Acting quickly Winter drew her sword and leapt forward, one hand caught him and the other used her weapon to stab into something to stop their fall. That something happened to be the coffin but Winter was too preoccupied to notice.

There was a lift and Winter slammed into the ceiling which was the ground at this point, with her weapon still in hand she didn't notice or care about the hole she created in the otherwise pristine coffin. The other man did however as there was a small almost unnoticeable _hiss_ that was drowned out by the noise.

Having enough Winter used a Glyph to establish gravity control and shoved the chute in his hand, to which the man hastily put on before she let up and he too was pulled through the breach. Winter looked around for the last parachute and found it attached to the wall on the opposite side of the hole.

' _Shit'_

She did an Aura infused jump to make it across and quickly donned the parachute "let go!" she yelled and the man looked at her before Winter answered his question "I'll catch yo-" her words caught in her throat as she saw something that made her shout "move!"

The man turned around and with a startled gasp let go, Winter leapt and caught him before they were both out the breach. It took a moment for Winter to reorient herself and pull the chute with the soldier hanging on for dear life. The Specialist could only watch as the plane glided downward through the air in a trail of fire and smoke.

She could vaguely make out where it was but he prayed that it didn't land near any of the local populace. Winter didn't dwell on it however as she had other things that took priority.

"Ma'am"

Winter's thoughts were torn from the bullhead to the lieutenant who looked shocked beyond belief. The specialist followed his gaze and almost did a double take. The hair at the back of her neck stood on end, she broke into a cold sweat and her heart beat faster in tandem with the growing feeling of dread as she bore witness to the sight before them.

"My god."

\

 _'I'm actually doing this.'_

A surge of nervous excitement filled the boy as he tiptoed around the house like a sneak. He had almost everything he's going to need for his journey, everything except for a weapon. Luckily being a part of one of the oldest Hunter family in the Valean territory a weapon wasn't in short supply.

In fact he'd even grown accustomed to one such weapon. Blue eyes eyed the blue wrapped pommel, pure white sheathed with gold accents. His father had told Jim stories about this weapon, how it was used in the war 100 years ago yet still retained its sharpness and pristine condition.

Taking it from the mantle he strapped it to the second belt he wore. Jaune took a minute to admire himself, who knows maybe some time in the immediate future he would master it.

"You look very handsome Jaune"

With an undignified yelp he spun around to see the face of the person he least wanted to know about what he planned to do.

"M-mom!" he fumbled with the weapon a little "what uh, w-what are you doing here?"

The woman, with Chestnut brown hair tied in a ponytail gave him an amused look before replying "I could ask you the same thing" she eyed the knapsack laid at his feet.

"I was um, just..." he trailed off at the quirk of her eyebrow and sighed dejectedly, accepting his fate but asked "how, when?"

She looked a little affronted by the question "a mother knows these things" her expression turned grave "you already know how I feel about this Jaune."

Jaune straightened up and glared at her "I don't get it, you and dad are Hunters, Joan, Rouge and the twins are Huntresses. Why can't I be a Huntsman?"

His mother sighed "if you're asking me this then you'll never understand the reason we didn't expose you to this life" she walked over to him and hugged him before kissing him on the forehead "I'm not going to stop you Jaune but remember, it's doesn't matter if you fail, you will always have a place here."

As she turned to leave Jaune stared after her, he wanted to say something, that he _"_ _wasn't going to fail"_ or _"_ _I'll come back as a Huntsman"_ but then a sickening feeling came upon him as he realized she had 'the look.' The same look she had when he said he wanted to be a hero all those years ago, the same look he'd seen her with for most of the time he'd made some grand statements as a kid.

The look of a parent has when they are humoring their child's delusions of grandeur.

She didn't think he could do this at all, she wasn't supporting his decision, she was going along with his idea so as to not hurt his feelings. She's not even trying to stop him because she fully expects him to fail and come crawling back here at the end of it.

Jaune Arc touched his cheek, drew back his hand to see his fingertips slightly damp. He just found out his own mother didn't even believe he could do it and that...that hurt more than any words they could have used to try and stop him or outright restrain him.

At least then he'd know they were scared that he actually had a chance and didn't want him to go through with it.

Wiping his tears he glared at the floor _'I'll show you, I'll show all of you!'_

With that he stormed out of the house with a determined glare as his mind ran through scenarios _'I'll graduate from Beacon and when I come back I...I'_

Jaune paused mid stride as he heard a noise, a kind of low pitch hum. Slowly his head tilted upwards "oh my god"

A flaming bullhead was on a collision course for-

*Boom*

It exploded, the noise jolted Jaune and he began running. Several things happened while he did, the alarm sounded, there were multiple crashes and finally he heard and _felt_ something exploded. That's when he was thrown off his feet in a daze. He slammed into something and blacked out.

...

...

...

 _"It's okay if you fail Jaune «Jaune...Jaune...Jaune»_

 _That's not what he wanted to hear._

 _"It's okay-"_

 _No_

 _"-if you-"_

 _ **No**_

 _"-fail"_

 _ **NO!**_

\

Ever so slowly Jaune regained his consciousness. It was dark, cold and hard, not just the effort but whatever he was laying on was hard to the touch. Once the feeling of his limbs came back a sharp pain preceded it causing Jaune to hiss and grimace in pain.

His eyelids felt like they were bolted shut but with some effort he managed to open them. He had a to blink a few times to clear his vision though when he did it still did little to help his confusion. The best he could gather was that he was...somewhere.

"Ugh, what in the..." he coughed a little and rolled over on his back.

Propping himself on his elbows he looked around. He was inside the town and...a crash startled him followed by a scream and several gunshots then an inhuman bellow. Jaune immediately dragged himself up and regarded his surroundings cautiously.

His mind made the decision _not_ to head towards the screaming and turned away in the opposite direction only to freeze. Looking onto the carnage Jaune realized what was happening right now.

A Grimm invasion.

Shit.

*Squawk*

He glanced up to see a giant raven swoop down and pick off a downed man and swallow him whole. Jaune almost threw up right then and there. Another scream cut through, this one close and Jaune didn't waste any time. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him trying to ignore what was happening around him. The adrenaline did wonders for his stamina, his heart thumped in his eardrums muting the sounds around him and he gained tunnel vision.

Jaune had run thus far unnoticed by everyone around him, his luck didn't last though and he ended up tripping and landed face first into the ground. He got back up without so much as a groan of pain. The hit did jolt his brain to think though and he looked around for a hiding place.

In retrospect he should've kept running.

Jaune let out an unmanly shriek when he was suddenly lifted off the ground, looking up he saw pitch black feathers.

*Squawk*

He screamed again when a pair of smaller Nevermores began pecking at him. Struggling seemed to excite them more judging by the noises they made. This in turn made Jaune more frantic and he managed to get off a lucky kick to ones face. His victory was short lived however as one of them clamped it's beak over his shin.

A scream ripped from his throat when the Nevermore bit down and tugged at him. Jaune frantically used his other foot to kick it. Another tug and the third Nevermore started pecking at his exposed front. A few dents were made in his chestplate and a few scrapes were gained.

The Nevermore made an angry squawk and through some firm the other two avian Grimm began flying apart lopsidedly. Before Jaune could be ripped apart the talon's grip on his right arm loosened which gave him the chance to yank it out and try to pry the other one out.

The third Nevermore tried to pick at his now free arm but it was small enough to be disoriented from a fierce backhand. Suddenly Jaune remembered something very important.

He had a sword strapped to his waist.

He pulled the sword out and started swinging it at the Nevermore to keep it at bay. He groaned in pain when the others started to stretch his body. Jaune retaliated by stabbing the Nevermore sinking his talon in his other shoulder. Unfortunately the swords seemingly everlasting sharpness could not compensate for his strength and the armor-like feathers blocked the blade.

Beyond desperate at this point Jaune began stabbing that same spot until-

*Crunch*

"GYAAARRGGH"

The Nevermore managed bite into and crushed his shin bone. The shock made him drop his sword, his only hope. He spared the falling form of Crocea Mors through tears filled eyes and at that moment he almost blacked out due to the pain but just as soon as it came, his mind sparked back to life

Grabbing the sheath he jammed it in between the talon with some effort and after screaming from another wrench from the second Nevermore biting his leg he kicked it in the eye, forcing it to squawk indignantly. At the same time Jaune clicked a mechanism causing the sheath to turn into a shield and forcing the talons apart.

With nothing left to hold him he began free falling. Physically and emotionally drained he didn't even have time to scream as he plummeted. The only thing he saw before unconsciousness took him was the sight of burning metal and trees.

\

 _Clusterfuck_

 _Noun_

 _A disastrously handled operation._

As Atlesian Specialist Winter Schnee looked onwards she could help but think that this is a textbook definition of a clusterfuck if she's ever seen one, which she hasn't because she had always completed her mission perfectly, this was the first mission she had that had gone awry. As someone who has a spotless record this operation was a blow to her pride and regardless of the circumstances Ironwood will have her head for this.

An off the books operation to retrieve a coffin that might be linked to the Grimm. Getting attacked by a swarm of Nevermores, an SDC Bullhead crashing into a village, an army of Grimm attacking said village who have no doubt sent out an SOS.

Winter messaged her temple "all because those idiots hadn't listened" she muttered.

"Specialist Schnee what should we do?"

That's a good question?

As much as it pained her she couldn't intervene with what is happening to the village, Winter is a soldier, a damn good one, she is not nor will she ever be a hero, she places her orders above her feeling. In a few hours that village will just be another in a long list to have disappeared overnight. Being this far out in the wilds, no one will escape and the bullhead was a 'dark' revealing no affiliation to the Atlas military or the SDC, hell they aren't even wearing their standard issued uniforms, which means its literally their asses if things go wrong.

"Try to get in contact with the others and radio in an evac. Tell them to meet ten clicks from the crash sight, use the trackers on the suits"

"Yes ma'am!"

Winter turned her back to the carnage, orders were absolute and her training refused to let her do something impulsive, she was a soldier not a hero.

 _'I'm sorry.'_

Schooling her features Winter started heading to the rendezvous point.

\

The next time Jaune woke up he felt even worse than the first. Pain didn't even begin to describe what he felt right then. It was as if his entire being was one big lump of hurt. Jaune blacked out a third time because of it and when he came to he woke up coughing and realized with a start that his surroundings were on fire. He tried to get up, momentarily forgetting how he ended up there and screamed out in pain.

His shoulders and chest hurt but his leg, if you could call it that at this point, was a mess and he wondered if he would even be able to walk again. Looking around he saw that he somehow ended up in the forests outside of his home.

That wasn't good.

That wasn't good at all.

After a moment Jaune began crawling desperately to safety. A part of his mind wondered why he even bothered at this point.

 _'Why do I even bother?'_

He gritted his teeth.

 _'I'm as good as dead anyway'_

He tried to ignore the pain.

 _'Mom was right'_

The thought caused Jaune to freeze.

A beat

Two beats

"Ha...haha...hahahahahahaha...ack" he choked on his own laugh with a sob and for the next two minutes continued to laugh while tears of pain, frustration and grief poured.

His mother _was_ right, he couldn't do this, he wasn't like those guys in the stories or his father or even his sisters. He was just Jaune Arc the lovable idiot stuck in a tree. He can't be a hero who saves people.

He can't even save himself.

Yet he still continued to crawl, dragging his body across the dirt and leaves. His survival instinct was still intact even though his hopes and dreams were crushed. God, Monty, Kami or whatever deity that existed must have been impressed with his will to survive because he found himself next to a tree with a sturdy looking dirt covered branch lying beside it.

Getting acquainted with his makeshift walking stick was cumbersome but Jaune hobbled along with no clear direction in mind. His face was covered in scratches, dirt and tears but it didn't matter to him. He didn't care about the loss of his family heirloom, didn't care about being a hero or Huntsman or whatever.

At this point he didn't want anything to do with the Grimm...

His thoughts trailed off when he came upon a trail of destruction. Trees were uprooted and strewn about with a giant trench carving through the destruction. Jaune's veins turned to ice as he watched a Grimm fly by. He watched as it flew then suddenly dropped, not dive or land but fall out of the sky. Hearing some non human noises further behind he hobbled towards where the Grimm fell cautiously.

Instead of one Jaune found several bodies of Grimm sprawled about the place. For the first time Jaune felt hope, whoever killed these things must have been the local Hunters, he was saved!

As he kept limping, following the bodies something at the back of his mind told him there was something not quite right here. The first thing Jaune noticed was that the air was...foggy, he paused to take a closer glance and found that it was actually white ash-like particles in the air.

Jaune swallowed a little but continued onwards but spared the bodies a more speculative glance. It was then he noticed none of the Grimm had _any_ visible wounds. Before he could think more on this his eyes caught sight of something and it might just be his imagination but it looked like

 _'A bullhead?'_

Not just any bullhead but the same one that crashed into town, at least he thought so but really how many bullheads would just crash in a frontier town like this anyway? Usually he would dread getting in one but it might as well be his salvation. As he limped towards the wreckage a sound caught his ears, a sound that wasn't human.

Jaune stopped in his tracks the sound wasn't coming from nearby, thank heavens for small miracles, but rather somewhere behind the wreckage. Jaune wasn't too curious to know what was happening so instead of investigating like an idiot he tried to find a way inside.

He almost threw up when he saw the two dead pilots, they looked like they were put through a blender, literally. Not having the energy to dwell on it he made to climb through the broken and burned windows.

Though with his physical and emotional exhaustion, cracked ribs, mangled leg and natural clumsiness it shouldn't be a surprise that he tripped and fell ungracefully, further agitating his injuries and eliciting a pained outburst. His scream might as well echo because everything was quiet, including whatever was making the noise.

*Thud*

His eyes trailed to the ceiling where the thumping continued, Jaune started edging to the cockpit door. When something dropped from the roof out of view Jaune staggered to his feet and went to the door.

*Screech*

Jaune felt his heart leapt to his throat but didn't dare turn and instead opened the door then quickly shut it behind him. Coughing a little at the density of the smog he stared disbelievingly at the giant hole to the side but the hard knock on the metal door stopped him.

Taking a quick look around Jaune saw that there was only one place where he could hide.

A giant coffin.

The gods either have a very twisted sense of humor or it is a sign, a very deliberate, very obvious sign. He noted that it was hissing steam no not steam but rather the same white smog that seems to cover the area. Jaune blinked away the spots and coughed. There was a rattle and Jaune began limping towards the coffin. The closer he was the weaker he felt.

His gut twisted and he barely managed to catch himself on the coffin when he collapsed from exhaustion and at the same time the door broke down. A shriek was heard signaling the arrival of the Grimm, though instead of attacking it started to thrash about the place for no reason letting Jaune get a good look at it. The Grimm stood on all fours with bird wings and lions tail with its head set like a hawk.

Its thrashing caused Jaune to fall and pull himself up until he was leaning against the coffin.

*Hiss*

He looked to the side to see a small hole _'so that's where that's coming from.'_

*Thud*

He turned around to see that the Grimm had fallen but was still spastic, choking on air and foaming at the mouth until eventually it went from thrashing to twitching to laying silent. Jaune saw that its red eyes usually burning went dim and for a long while he remained silent until.

"Ha…" that bark of laugh was followed by another then some coughing.

After a particular violent cough he was made aware of just how drained he was. Tired didn't even begin to describe it, his breath grew a little bit ragged with every breath and idly his eyes trailed to his busted leg. Jaune was shocked to find the blood trail left behind.

 _Was it really that bad?_

Jaune didn't know, he was too busy to really check his injury but for now he was safe. Gingerly he pulled his jeans up wincing and cursing all the while. He bit back a gasp at seeing bone sticking out of the wound with discolored skin. This was beyond just patching a wound, it was already infected.

This was the type of thing they amputate for.

That means even if he, by some miracle, managed to stay alive his life would be over. He'll be a cripple, unable to do anything on his own ever again and his family…

His family.

He jolted a little at the realization.

Here he is thinking about himself when he didn't even know if they were alright. His parents and older sisters he knew could handle themselves but Rosa and Olivia?

He used the coffin to try and brace himself slowly to lean on it.

' _I have to go'_

He panted a little at the effort and his leg and shoulders throbbed.

' _I have to help them'_

He finally reached a proper standing position

' _At least they need to know about this place'_

He turned to brace his arm on the coffin, unfocused eyes glaring ahead

' _Wherever 'here' is anyway'_

He looked around the area, eyes absently passing over the hole in the coffin only to freeze and trail right back to it.

' _What the…'_

Inside the hole of the unnaturally large coffin, something hissed back.

"Ah!" he startled back

*Squelch*

Jaune made gagging noises as something was lodged in his neck, reflexively Jaune grasped onto it, his body got weaker, blood gurgled in his mouth and he fell back and watched as whatever stuck in his neck was violently broken off. The thing is that he could still _feel_ part of it in his neck and he felt it begin to worm it's into his neck.

*SCREEEEECH*

Jaune gagged trying to pry his armor away but it was futile, he backed away fearfully at the now rumbling coffin, there was another screech and some banging like something trying to get out. Jaune crawled away to the opposite wall all the while the thing in his body wormed its way to his chest and settled precariously over his heart.

It wasn't until then he realized _'I'm going to die'_

He continued to choke, tears streaming down as he slowly lost all bodily functions and spasm.

*Bam*

The coffin lid flew off but at this point Jaune could nothing but stare lifelessly as _it_ rose. _It_ was neither human, Faunus or even Grimm. Crouching low with pasty pinkish-white skin, long skinny arms and legs and a body looking so malnourished you could see it's ribs, it didn't pose an imposing light compared to the Grimm. Yet despite this and his near dying state Jaune felt fear as despite its malnourished state Jaune could almost feel the understated strength it possessed.

It had a head and a mouth with no visible eyes or nose. Attached to its skinny almost twig-lig arms and legs were five clawed fingers and toes that looked like it could knock a man's head off or curb stomp a torso apart respectively. It had three antenna-like extensions petruding coming from its back and a long tail with spines along the length ending with an organic bladed tip at the end.

It slowly turned to regard him causing Jaune to sputter and cough up a mouth full of blood. At that point Jaune couldn't even move his body, his breath came in pants as the creature came closer like a predator stalking its prey. Then it suddenly jerked and turned towards the hole and after letting out a guttural shriek sped away on all fours not like a dog but like an insect.

And like that Jaune was left alone…crying…dying…in despair…until his last breath.

\

An hour of trekking and slaughtering Grimm later and Winter platoon found themselves at the edge of mist. Because that's what it looks like, mist and it would have been inconspicuous if not for how thick it was, that and the fact that they came across the corpse of a Grimm. It wasn't as if the corpse was freshly killed and smoking. It wasn't because it was gravely injured or dying because the first thing Winter did upon seeing the prone form of Grimm that wasn't speaking was to stab it through the skull with her saber.

There was no whimper and no smoke, for all intents it was just a regular Grimm corpse, which is impossible. She retracted the saber and flicked off the blood and looked at the creeping fog then at the corpse which had white gunk forming on it like a fungus.

"Doctor," she addressed the scientist she had saved "what am I looking at here?"

"It seems to be some kind of condensed cloud of particulates" she said as some of her colleagues crowded the corpse.

"Remarkable" one the men said.

"Is it lethal?"

"Apparently it is for the Grimm, look" she pointed to several more corpses in the distance "we won't know if it is for us without testing the air" she glanced at the corpse.

"I won't risk it" Winter said "everyone put on your gas masks"

"The particulates may be able to go in through your skin"

"…our Aura can protect us, I only four men to-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off by a guttural shriek that echoed through the mist which seems to creep closer to them. All the scientist backed off and remained in a circle as the soldiers established a perimeter around them. Winter slowly drew her saber, her expression betrayed nothing and her mind was a sea of calm calculating analysis. She stared in the direction of where she heard the noise.

She could hear _something_ approaching, something fast and just when it got within range the movement stopped. Crystal blue eyes narrowed looking around and she took a few steps back surveying the area.

 ***SCREEEEECH***

Winter's head snapped up as she spied the creature leaping directly towards her from above then slammed into a conjured glyph but to her mild surprise it leapt off the glyph and to the side on all fours. Now out of the mist, she got a good enough look at it and came to a conclusion.

' _This is no Grimm'_

It had no face, only a mouth with razor sharp crystal-like teeth where saliva runs from it like a river. Its skinny body and pinkish-white skin gave the impression of a sickly man but she knew better. The creature released another hiss, lips parting its circular mouth to revel gums as its tail flicked about wildly in anticipation.

It would not have a chance to attack however as the men began opening fire, bullets hit its flank and through this she saw that its skin was no denser than a human's. White blood flew as bullets pierced skin and the creature turned to regard her men with a snarl, Winter chose that moment to make her move.

A forward dash with her saber poised to stab the creature through its head. She didn't expect the creature's reflexes to be fast enough to react to her charge, she didn't expect the creature to be strong enough to not only block her attack but halt her momentum and she definitely didn't expect it to use its mouth to stop her saber. She watched in astonishment as it _bit down_ and _broke_ through refined Dust-steel saber like it was a potato chip.

Fortunately she did see it whip its tail around, as fast as the action was and raised her guard to block it. Unfortunately she didn't account for such a skinny thing to have so much strength. Winter tumbled head over heels like a ragdoll before she hit a tree hard enough to chip the bark. She landed in a crouch however and watched as the creature was shot at.

With a screech its tail flicked and knocked the lower jaw of the closest soldier clean off. His tongue was left hanging out as his gun dropped and he fell to his knees in shock before dropping dead with copious amounts of blood running down from his jawless mouth. By that time the creature had already lunged at another soldier and began to rip his chest armor apart like tissue paper with its claws. All it took was three strikes for the screaming soldier's chest to be bear and a fourth one to draw blood before its face sunk into the chest.

Winter acted fast and summoned a Beowolf with her glyph that lunged at the creature managing to get it off. The Schnee specialist managed to make it over of the fallen soldier to make sure it was safe. Unfortunately the downed soldier had a hole in his chest cavity and a look to the creature saw it with a bloody lump of meat hanging from its teeth Winter soon recognized as her deceased subordinate's heart.

As if meeting her eyes the creature flipped the heart in the air and chomped on it before taking several quick bites and swallowing it. Livid at the audacity of the thing her teeth barred she clicked a latch and a dagger separated from side. The creature provoked by the action immediately charged at her but was intercepted by the summons.

"Retreat back and radio for reinforcements, protect the scientists while I deal with it!" she yelled the order.

The creature held the summoned Beowolf over its head and almost effortlessly ripped it in half with its mouth wide open to drink in the contents. A sound of confusion was heard as it was showered with ice-shards instead of innards. Several glyphs were created around it, Winter charged with the speed of an Atlesian Dust train, zig-zagging around it leaving deep gashes that spilled more white blood on the ground.

With a screech and speed that almost surprised her, it suddenly spun and attempted to let her impale herself on its claw. Winter bent back and slide across the grass on her knees and letting the partly broken blade of her saber slice into its leg. As the creature dropped to its knee with a pained shriek Winter spun on her knees to face it while letting the momentum carry her while she into a crouch where she observed the creature.

Despite the numerous wounds she inflicted it seemed to ignore it in favor of regarding her. Her gaze went from it to the ground before it and an idea came to her, the creature was fast, faster than her, it was also stronger and smart enough to see a pattern in her attack and discern where she would strike and with its monstrous strength plus its reflexes Winter came to the conclusion that this creature is the most dangerous thing she had fought.

In all honesty Winter was the most nervous she had ever been fighting against a non-human or Faunus combatant.

But she still had two things going for her that could afford her victory. Her skills as a swordswoman, military training and her Semblance, as long as she has those and time she would prevail. There are also reinforcements to come but she couldn't afford to make this into a battle of attrition.

She flipped the saber into a reverse grip and stabbed it into the ground before her where a Glyph formed, the moment she moved the creature began another round of assault only to met by a murder of summoned Nevermores. They served to be little more than a distraction for the creature that barreled past them.

But that was the point.

She leapt away leaving the Glyph which glowed an ominous black almost blending into the night. The moment he creature was caught, it was suspended over mid-air in an anti-gravity field produced by the glyph. With a glyph empowered leap Winter performed a butterfly kick across its jaw with all the grace of a figure-skater.

With no leverage or defenses the creature was momentarily helpless as a heeled boot cracked against its jaw with an audible crack that had it literally spinning through the air until it hit the trunk of a tree by the edge of the fog. The creature quickly squirmed to all fours but crashed down to the dirt again when a gravity glyph formed above its body forcing it into the ground.

Winter charged with both blades by her side, the creature squirmed, not seeming to lose any of its aggressive energy. Once in range the creature managed to send its bladed tail straight at her but Winter easily parried the appendage with her broke saber and with a spin she flip the dagger in a reverse grip and aimed a stab at its brain.

In its attempts to dodge the creature fought through the force of the glyph and elevated its head so that the dagger stabbed into its jaw. It didn't stop Winter from wrenching the weapon all the way and tearing a chunk of its cheek away in a spray of flesh and white blood. The creature roared in pain but mostly anger and it was through that anger did it find enough strength to resist the push of the glyph and viciously backhand the Schnee specialist away and into the fog.

To her credit Winter didn't let go of her weapons as she tumbled through the dense fog and when she did stop she had to take a moment to take deep grateful breaths. She could feel the drain on her Aura reserves as it attempted to mend the no doubt cracked ribs. With her uniform covered in dirt, her hair undone from the tumble and her body almost convulsing from the worst pain she ever felt in her relatively short career Winter surmised that she must look like a mess.

Determining her injuries manageable enough Winter took the opportunity to survey the area before realizing she was in the fog. For a moment her hand reached to cover her face but then it occurred she had been inhaling whatever it was that killed the Grimm and showed no signs of ailing…worse than she already is. There was a loud shriek and she instantly sprung to her feet looking around wildly in a panic.

It was no use though, both in trying to locate the creature and calming her frayed mind. The fog was too thick and the creature's screeches sounded as if it came from all around her. Winter was also tired, if she had time to look at her scroll she knew it would be somewhere in the lower yellow region maybe even red. Her Semblance was just as draining as it was diversified and she hasn't exactly mastered its more special aspects like summoning and gravity manipulation to a point where it doesn't drain her after prolonged use.

A snarl from nearby had her spin around, her nerves were at their wits end _'come on, show yourself you-'_

Her thoughts were effectively severed when two meaty hands grabbed the sides of her face from above and flipped her into an overhanging tree branch and as she dropped back to the ground she was tackled midair or more like pounced on as the creature used her body as a platform before sending her body rocketing to the ground.

Pain exploded down the specialist's spine but she fought through it and turned in a low crouch towards the creature that sped after her. She activated a glyph under her to leap away but gained a surprised expression when the creature stopped. Its low shuddering grumble was all that was heard as it seemingly regarded the glyph with caution.

' _It's adapting to my fighting style'_

Winter couldn't believe it, during this entire battle it has been learning and adapting to fighting strategy. How could she have not seen it sooner? But how could she have? The only thing she had fought during her life, had been droids, humans, Faunus and Grimm. This creature is neither of them but it had been easy to regard it with the same amount of caution one would regard a Grimm but in hindsight she should have treated it as a human or Faunus because this creature was highly intelligent.

Winter sheathed her saber gaining a slight tilt of confusion from the creature that was no longer snarling. She almost laughed at that fact, that she had been fooled by the creature. It had 'acted' as if it were a mindless beast. She positioned herself so that the sheath is out of view and clicked a button at the side.

The creature tensed and Winter dashed forward with her dagger poised to stab when it jumped to the side. Winter unsheathed her saber and flashed it to the side where an arc of blue dust that turned ice upon contact was launched at it mid leap. With most of its body encased in ice the creature could do nothing but screech and struggle. And struggle it did, flailing, screaming, scratching, grunting and beating the ice.

That is, until Winter threw her dagger with all her strength where it imbedded hilt deep into its head. Almost immediately the creature stopped moving, its voice died down as it went limp with remnants of drool escaping its bloody maw. For a moment Winter stood frozen with her hand outstretched. After a full three minutes of staring at it she collapsed from exhaustion finally letting her weapon go.

The adrenaline slowly but surely left her system and the specialist realized just how drained she was. And she expressed her exhaustion the only way she can since she was by herself by catching her breath. Pulling down her sleeve she eyed a wristwatch to see that her Aura was in the red, she released a sigh finally composing herself.

Sounds coming from further out alerted her and her settled on the creature. It was still unmoving in the block of ice with the dagger still in its brain. Her attention was diverted when she noticed the laser pointers through the fog. Immediately she got to her feet, for a moment she attempted to at least make herself look presentable in the eyes of her men before ultimately stopping to straighten her posture.

The men made it and three sets of light and shone on her form "commander Schnee"

With a deep breath and a steely gaze she spoke "at ease men, the creature has been neutralized" she gestured to the slumped corpse in the block of ice.

The soldiers looked amongst themselves and Winter raised an eyebrow "is there something the matter?"

"No ma'am, it's just that…" he trailed.

"Speak your mind soldier!" she snapped.

The man straightened "it's just that the creature shows no signs of erosion"

"As you can see lieutenant, whatever this creature is, it is no Grimm" she pursued her lips "but if you feel insecure of your safety then you may 'check' for a pulse"

"Yes ma'am" the man wasted no time putting some well placed shots on the creatures exposed body.

There was no movement, no screech or any death throws.

Winter walked up to the soldier with an unimpressed look "are you satisfied lieutenant?"

She didn't wait for a reply before moving on only to be stopped by a corporal's words "we brought you a mask commander"

Winter noticed that they all wore masks "that won't be necessary at this juncture soldier. I have inhaled this mist long enough, either I am now infected with an unknown pathogen or this particular strain only affects the creatures of Grimm" she pulled her dagger from the creature "either way I won't be needing it. More importantly how is the situation out there?"

"We managed to catch up with another squadron who got into contact with the other transport vessel, they are inbound"

She clicked her weapons together "and the village?"

"Overrun, no prospect for survivors. By this time tomorrow it should marked off the map."

Winter internally winced _'just as I thought'_ she sighed and sheathed her blade.

"Very well, we will regroup I will be under guarantee until the scientists can guarantee that this pathogen is not lethal to humans. I have a feeling this creature has something to with it."

' _In fact it might just be what was inside that sarcophagus we were delivering'_ she frowned at the thought.

She began to redo her hair in a bun "sent another team to find the bullhead-"

*Squelch*

Winter jerked forward, her words cut off abruptly, she couldn't see behind the soldiers' visors but she could see the apprehension in their posture, their weapons were raised and pointed to something behind her. Winter had a pretty good idea of what it was but her attention was elsewhere. Her arms suddenly lost all feeling and dropped in tandem with her hair. Slowly she looked down

"H-huh?" she could see something protrude from her stomach, something sharp, long and covered in blood. Then it violently ripped itself out "argh" blood came from her short cry of agony and she staggered back before dropping to her knees with a look of disbelief as her brain try and failed to come to grips with what just happened.

Time seemed to slow as she turned her head. She was met by the creature's featureless face as it opened its mouth in a long drawn out hiss that looked like it was about to strike. Instinctively Winter raised her hand in a feeble attempt to block, the creatures mouth latched onto her hand then with a wrench _ripped it off_. Winter numbly looked at the stump gushing blood where her right hand used to be.

The creature not even five feet away ate her hand before her eyes while seemingly ignoring the bullets pelting its skin. She didn't feel the hit that knock her aside, her body hit the grass but she did not move. Her breathing became shallower with each one she takes. Distantly she could hear more screeching, gun fire, screams, bodies hit the grass and finally something hitting the ground in a wet plop.

Then there was silence…

Her eyes flitted to the corner of loud footsteps before she was unceremoniously pulled by her arms and forced to stare listlessly into the faceless creature. It opened its mangled mouth wide but instead of biting her something came out and lodged into her chest.

"Commander!"

Several shots were fired and she was dropped again as the thing attached to the creature broke off and this time she watched in vindictive satisfaction as the creature was affected by the hail of bullets. It charged at the soldier through the fire, they both yelled and the creature swiped noticeably more sluggish at him. It was enough to knock him aside and she saw that his mask was askew but he bounced back reloaded his rifle and emptied a full clip inside it. Then finally with a death cry it dropped and exploded into a thicker concentration of the mist-like substance around them.

Winter's view became dark at the edges, she couldn't feel anything, hear anything, the copper taste of her blood was gone, pain was now fleeting memory and breathing was slowly lost to her. Eventually her mind started shutting down but not before flashing an image of her sister and how she would react to her death.

\

" _-and afterwards the mist started to dissipating. We were able to find the bullhead and recover the sarcophagus but by the time we arrived it had already been forced opened. Most likely the creature was housed inside. We also found the body of a teenage boy in close proximity to the sarcophagus, it is believed that the creature must have kille-"_

James Ironwood stopped the recording of the debriefing. He sat alone in his office with papers on his desk and an almost empty bottle of bourbon. The doors were locked and the curtains were drawn, he couldn't afford to let his men see him in such a state. He downed another glass, his Aura and cybernetics in part did wonders for his alcohol tolerance.

Unlike a certain old crow he didn't like indulge too much in alcohol less he experience its unsavory aftereffects. But lately he'd found himself teetering down the same path that is slowly destroying a colleague he had once regarded as a skilled Huntsman. He wouldn't though, as hard as it is to not let himself wallow in grief, he would move on, he's done it before, it never gets any easier but at least he has practice.

The fact of the matter is, Winter Schnee is dead along with twelve of his men, fine soldiers all of them. And worst yet, an entire frontier village was burned to the ground, hundreds of lives lost in the ensuing chaos caused ultimately set off by him. He didn't dwell on it though because in the end it was well worth it, their sacrifice could ensure humanity's survival and put an end to the scourge that is the Grimm.

He looked over the reports of essentially what they were delivering. No doubt _she_ had prior knowledge to it but it was thanks in part to her that they were able to discern the true value of the content of the sarcophagus. _This, this_ is humanity's answer to the Grimm problem, not fairytales of maidens or silver eyes, not Huntsmen and not even robotics.

No the true solution is a biological attack, a viral strain that targets only the Grimm. Simplistic yet genius in design! The creature of unknown origin, only one of its kind, must have been the true bane of Grimm. Preliminary results of its corpse and the corpse of the infected Grimm have proven that. All that was left is to reverse engineer the strain, further test it to ensure its lethality to the Grimm alone and mass produce it.

The general could imagine it, releasing a viral mist across the Kingdoms borders, destroying the Grimm while keeping the rest of the population safe. It's the only thought that now drives him, the only reason why the bottle of Bourbon is only a _quart_ empty. He and the Jacques had already allocated a great amount of their combined resources to seeing this plan come to fruition.

He looked at the folder before him and an image of Winter came up, a proud young woman who wanted to prove something to her family. He took her under his wing and groomed her into a fine soldier that, in the end, sacrificed herself to give humanity the means of finally winning this war.

' _Your death will not be in vain'_ his features hardened _'I will make sure of it.'_

The folder was tossed down with the name in bright red **'Project: White Light'**

 **The End…?**

…

…

… **Hell no!**

 **Epilogue…**

He felt like a wreck, ever since he got back from that goddamn mission, they've done some tests on him which he didn't mind, he was literally in the thick of it, in fact he was the one who killed whatever the fuck it was that killed the commander. Personally he was apathetic to her death but fuck the way she or any of his squad got killed by that thing was downright brutal and hard to stomach.

It wasn't that they were killed but _how_ they were killed, this thing wasn't like the Grimm, a mindless animal that kills anything on sight. This thing was smart efficient and ruthless to a degree that it honest to god scared him more than any Grimm could. Down to when he finished it off, it never stopped running at him, like it knew it was going to die and wanted to take him with it.

It managed to knock his mask off at the last minute when it got its last hit in. Then it died a second later and then exploded into dust right in his face. For a few hours he thought he caught something but the doctors cleared him. He was so relieved he went to get drinks, enough to get him tipsy but not enough that he'd wake up with a hangover.

That was the plan but he somehow still ended up throwing up in the toilet first thing after walking through the door of his apartment. A pained groan escaped his lips and started convulsing, it felt like his insides were trying to evict itself from his spine. His shirt felt so constricting he had to take it off.

He jerked coughing up another glob of puke, except this wasn't vomit, it was blood. He jerked forward again and convulsed as his spine bent out against the skin of his back. The convulsions became worse to the point where his entire body was shaking, the entire time something in his back was forcing its way through.

With a sickly rip his back burst open in a shower of blood and gore something dropped to the ground from a cord still attached to his body. At first it wasn't discernible from the growing fluids on the ground but then _something_ began to form. Tendrils of flesh shot from the ground to the open back of the unfortunate soldier.

It started growing rolling in the gore until a bloody clawed hand raised and pushed itself upright. More of it started to form at the same time the body lost more of its form. It took a minute for its body to form, from indescribable puddle gore and bile to a pink-red creature the size of a dog with clawed hands, clawed feet, a tail and no face. As more of the human body was absorbed, it gained more weight until it snarled revealing sharp jagged teeth.

Then it released an unholy screech to the heavens.

…At the same time two pairs of eyes snapped open from their death spell.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Well not really the end but you know this is one of my more ambitious works so you can expect more. So this story I gotta say turned out to be a lot more darker than I would have expected, in fact think it's the closest I've come to horror/tragedy.**

 **BTW for anyone wondering this story is based on several concepts but the two main ones that I** _ **know**_ **most could recognize are Prototype and Aliens which is why if you want an accurate picture of the creature then just Google 'Neomorph rejected concepts' and look at the first one.**


	9. The Arc Wizard

**Author's Notes: I wrote this around the time of vol 3 when Ozpin told the story of The Wizard and Maidens. I at the time was also inspired by SpookyNoodle's 'Old Man' so this is my take on what if Jaune was The Wizard in the fairytale. Back then I was very enthusiastic with this premise I actually wrote 13 chapters for this story each 3000 words plus but lost steam in the turmoil that was school.**

 **So hear you go, the first three chapters**

* * *

 **The Arc Wizard**

* * *

 **Old Man Jaune**

* * *

 _My name is Jaune Arc, I am six years old. I lived in the town settlement of Arcadia which was founded by my ancestors centuries ago. I lived with my family a mother, a father and 7 sisters. My dream is to one day become a hero like the men and women in the stories my parent used to read to me at bedtime._

….

' _Wait, what!?'_

Blue eyes blinked dumbly "that can't be right" he looked at his hands then he glanced beside him at the decrepit corpse which _used_ to be his body.

 _My_ _ **real**_ _name is Oscar Zorastor Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkell Emmannuel Ambriose Dig. I am more than a few centuries old, my home has long since been forgotten and discarded by time. I had no family and was raised by monks and thought the magical arts which I have dedicated my life to researching. My dream is to see to the end of darkness that has plagued this world._

' _At least that's what I remembered it to be.'_

"What the bloody hell is going on here?"

The boy(?) was in a room _'in one of my many safehouses across Remnant'_.

Beside him lay his old body, old and grey _'it served its purpose well'_

He swung his legs off the bed and dropped "whoa!" his legs bent "was the bed always that high?"

His eyes landed on the full wardrobe mirror to see an innocent looking, blonde haired child with blue eyes.

Oh yeah, he was a child _….again._

He sighed before holding his head in pain, a wave of memories washed over him, memories of a child who had witnessed his family being massacred. A few moments later the pain stopped and he slowly looked to the mirror to see tears streaming down his face. No matter how he tried the tears wouldn't stop.

"What's happening to me" he spoke before breaking down into uncontrolled sobs.

\\\

Later a now red eyed boy dragged the body down a flight of stairs into the basement. The body was stripped of all clothes sans the underwear and wrapped in a white sheet. The boy grunted as he dragged the body down. This was perhaps his least favorite activity and he made a mental note to invest in a garbage shoot.

"This would be so much easier if I could use magic"

But that would be too good to be true, one does not just up and use magic. Much like Aura magic needs to be honed and the body matured to grow accustomed to be properly wielded. In other words despite having near limitless knowledge of magic, he's too young to use most of them. The best he could do at such a young age is sleight of hand or low level illusions.

In other words parlor tricks.

He would have to train his body _'ugh'_ it is a long process that is slightly aggravating at best and downright tedious at worst.

' _Speaking of tedious'_

It appeared that the sheet covering the body was snagged by a loose nail in the floor board "ah what now?" he tugged but with his weak form he couldn't budge it.

With another hard tug the body finally broke free but he underestimated his strength and was sent sprawling on the ground. The worst part was that the 170 pound body landed on top of his small form effectively trapping him.

"DAMMIT! Okay calm down Jaune-OSCAR I meant Oscar" he let out a long groan of frustration before crawling out from under the body.

Once out he looked in the basement until his eyes landed on the incinerator, already burning "at least I had the foresight to turn it on beforehand"

It wasn't very far from the stairs but his five year old body was already tired. He glared at the corpse

 _There's no way I can carry it all the way up there. I'm too tired'_

*Growl*

' _And Hungry'_

He glanced between the body and incinerator for a few dreary moments before muttering some words and glaring at the body as if willing it suddenly levitate….which it did.

"What the deuce?"

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth he easily guided the body towards the incinerator. The panel slid forward and the body was placed on the slab which then moved back inside.

He stared at the incinerator for a long while before he smiled widely "cool~"

' _What's wrong with me'_ he shook his head.

\

Soul transfer; an ancient, high level and forbidden spell that actually transfers the soul of the castor into another. Of all the spells used to prolong life, soul transfer is considered to be the least favorable method with the least payoff. There are actually spells for immortality or prolonged youth, he'd already performed one many years ago. However those are not an option, he simply did not have the power he once did.

Soul transfer just happens to be the only spell he could do at this time to extend his life, though he wouldn't consider it extending his life so much as restarting it. By transferring your soul into another being you assume that person's life.

In this case he is assuming Jaune Arc's life.

What usually happens is that when he transfers his soul the recipients soul goes into his other body (which is usually seconds away from death) so they can die peacefully. It isn't the most moral thing to do especially since it's the reason why he always chooses an orphaned child no one would miss but it's all for the greater good.

Jaune was supposed to be another orphan no one missed, his family was massacred by the creatures of Grimm before his very eyes and his village was razed in flames. Something happened though and the boy's soul wasn't transferred to the old body

It stayed.

"…I always wondered if two souls could actually share a body without destroying each other" the boy mused as he ate a grilled cheese sandwich and chocolate milk.

The answer was no, two souls can't share a body, that's the reason why Jaune's consciousness isn't gone, its' still there and the only reason why he could even tell was because of the conflicting memories. The longer he waited the more its influence grew.

In layman's terms The Wizard is Jaune Arc and Jaune Arc is the Wizard.

Actually the latter might be prudent since it's what he was leaning to. He didn't feel like he was in another body, more like he felt that someone dumped several lifetimes worth of memories in Jaune Arc's brain.

He finished his meal and swallowed _'maybe it's for the best'_

He looked to the sky "I guess I'll be going as Jaune Arc now"

It wasn't so bad now that he thought about it Jaune's goal although simple and idealistic coincides with what Oscar wanted. The boy had a substantial amount of Aura reserved, though unrefined but that is the least and could be remedied with training. The most obvious advantage Jaune had was his apparent affinity for magic.

That is perhaps one of the key differences between Magic and Aura. _Everyone's_ Aura can be unlocked, it is after all a representation of their soul and everyone on Remnant has a soul except the Grimm of course. Magic on the other hand can only be wielded by someone who has the aptitude for it. Luckily there are ways of finding out if a person has that aptitude.

Jaune Arc may have the largest Oscar has seen yet, in fact he had the potential to become as powerful as Oscar if he was given the training. Now it was guaranteed he would become a powerful wizard with all of Oscar's knowledge and experience firmly rooted in his being.

' _Maybe this time I can finish what I started'_

With those final thoughts he went to take a bath.

\\\6 months later\\\

It's been six months, not enough time to properly learn how to fight but enough time to know the limitations on the level of spells he could perform. Thankfully he could perform battle magic so he's not useless in a fight but there is a reliance on Dust. A problem because his stocks are limited and he's too young to be buying them in the first place.

Child safety and all that.

But now that he can use magic early that won't have to be a problem, however he will have to relocate. This safehouse was designed specifically for him to spend his childhood years preparing his body to house magic. He did it in six months, now he'll have learn how to fight which he has another safehouse located on the island of Patch.

Actually he had four but since he's in Valean territory the one on Patch is the closest one. Clad in knee length shorts sneakers and a hoodie he filled a messenger bag with essentials before heading off. He stopped once his eyes landed on something familiar yet foreign. In the corner of the room a sheathed sword laid. He approached the weapon harmlessly placed next to the nightstand and picked it up.

He inspected the weapon which was almost as tall as he was "Crocea Mors"

The once legendary sword belonging to the Arcs, he's known it by another name from another time. The reason why Oscar even bothered to take it was because it is one of the legendary swords of old. Though simple in design the steel was nigh indestructible as is the shield. Back in Oscar's time when the sword belonged to a King, it was said to have been blessed by a high ranked wizard so the blade will never dull even if left unattended.

This sword's last user was Jaune Arc's father Jonah Arc and Jaune hadn't really paid attention to it while he was training. He drew the sword and like the legends say, the sword looked as polished and sharp as if it was new. He sheathed the sword and began to ponder about what to do about it. This wasn't the first time he came across a legendary weapon with magical properties.

He had a storage safehouse for them where he would choose to wield at a later date "but I already made a choice."

He strapped the weapon over his back _'it only makes sense for Jaune Arc to use the Arc ancestral weapon.'_

He turned into a hallway of doors all with a different plaque "alright let's see, ah Vale" he stood before the door and opened it only to lock it again "stupid rain."

After getting his umbrella and pulling up the hoodie he went through the door and into the storm. While it looked like he went through a door he actually came through a brick wall in a dark corner which opened like a door. The rain was falling pretty hard and Jaune wondered if he should have come another time.

' _No better I get this over with, I don't plan on doing this a second time'_

He made sure to keep his head down, a lot of unsavory types live on this side of the Kingdom, the so-called rats of society Faunus and human alike. He looked around and in a way he was thankful for the rain. The streets were empty as the water beat down like the longest drumroll in history.

' _Well_ _almost empty'_

Across the street Jaune spied what looked like a person huddled under the meager building in front for shelter with nothing but a newspaper held over their head. Jaune felt a pang of pity from his position but soldiered on, sometimes things happen, he couldn't help everyone.

His trek lead him to a Dust shop almost on the other side of Vale 'From Dust Till Dawn' a modest Dust store not at all affiliated with the SDC. The reason for this was because _he_ was the one supplying the store with Dust. It was one of a few ventures he started 50 years ago along with his partner before leaving the management of the store and several other businesses to said partner while he tried to quell the Faunus wars.

While he didn't succeed he at least managed to help get them out of Menagerie but that is a story for another time. He was pleasantly surprised to see that not only was his little company still active it was actually standing up to giants like the SDC or maybe it isn't perceived as a threat. Either way it's a lucky break, he didn't like the SDC not the Schnees but the fact that their Dust comes from what basically amounts to slave labor is appalling to him.

He was tempted on multiple occasions to break them out but it would result in more problems. As much as he hated it, it was a necessary evil. Without Dust to supply Hunters they wouldn't be able to defend the kingdoms from the Grimm. Worse since everyone practically depended on the stuff and the ignorant masses don't care where the Dust comes from.

He shook his head of the depressing thoughts before casting an illusion spell on himself and entered _'by the gods'_

It was him, his old partner, he had gotten frail and weak. His hair was in the final stages of greying and balding but he could recognize him anywhere. A smile graced his lips, it's so nice to see a familiar face after all this time, even if he currently didn't look like himself. If he knew the man was alive he would have made himself look like his old form so they could talk but as it stood he was there to conduct business.

\\\

"Well that was productive" Jaune smiled as he exited the store.

His old friend was doing good for himself, very professional and strong despite his age. He wouldn't expect any less from him. The Dust should be delivered to an address in Patch which he will then pick up and deliver to his safehouse personally.

It went so well not even the rain could bring his mood down in fact Jaune was humming a tune has he walked down the wet street. He spied a small ice-cream shop and thought 'why not' he could go for some sweet, his 6 year old brain practically demanded it. So it was that Jaune exited the parlor ten minutes later with five drums of Neapolitan ice-cream.

He went down his usual route until he came across a familiar sight which managed to dampen his mood a little. It was the homeless person he saw earlier from across the street only this time he was close enough to see them clearly. He spared a glance at the person as he passed and the sight made him stop in his tracks. He didn't even cover up the fact that he was staring, the sight was so unnatural he didn't think he had ever seen it before.

The _girl_ was small and probably as young as he was, she was dirty, wet and he could smell her even with the rain. Her skin was pale making the dirt that much more pronounced she had black hair but she held her head down so he couldn't see her face.

 _..wait_

His eyes went to the bag of ice-cream he held

*Growl*

That sound confirmed what he suspected and so Jaune sighed and steeled himself as he approached her.

The girl shifted and Jaune saw her head slowly went up to reveal dull emerald eyes. Jaune felt a pang of sympathy in his heart at the sight, the boy had never seen an actual orphan before and he very much wanted to help her. What stopped him was Oscar's experience with this particular situation.

Jaune looked around and frowned, no one was on the street and he doubted anyone would even bat an eye towards the girl. He didn't doubt orphans like her were common probably mostly Faunus but this girl is certainly no Faunus.

His gaze turned to the girl who was looking at him in silent confusion _'well this is awkward'_

He coughed "um, hi there" he nervously greeted.

She gave him a once over and Jaune realized that he'd just been standing there with an umbrella over his head while she only had a soaked newspaper to shelter her from the rain. He went closer and offered her shelter, the umbrella was designed for adults and he was short enough for it to cover two people.

"Better?"

"…." The girl didn't reply but slowly nodded taking the newspaper from her head.

"My name is Jaune Arc"

"…"

"What's yours?"

Her eyes trailed to the Ice-cream he held and just seemed to stare and he could actually see a bit of drool, or it could just be the rain. Her eyes went to his but she remained silent. The silence permeated between them only the sound of rain drops hitting the street and umbrella sounded.

*Growl*

Both of them blinked and the girl seemed to stare at his ice-cream again almost longingly "are you hungry?"

*Growl*

"I thought so" he looked at the girl and swallowed "I have a lot of food at my house"

Her eyes snapped to his wide, confused and hopeful.

' _What am I doing?'_

Oscar didn't pick up strays, not anymore, they would usually slow him down and the last time he picked up a stray he ended up regretting it...immensely. But he wasn't Oscar not anymore, he was Jaune Arc a boy who was raised to see the best in people and to do right by them. Not because it would suite his goal in the future but because it is the right thing to do.

He held out his hand towards her "come on I'll share some of my ice-cream"

The girl looked flabbergasted; she glanced between his hand and his face before tentatively taking it. Jaune pulled her up but had to step back, she was a few inches taller than him which made for an awkward walk since he was the one holding the umbrella. That is until she took it from him, Jaune looked up to her, she returned the stare before silently urging him to lead the way.

They made it into the familiar alley and stood before a brick wall much to the girl's confusion. Jaune turned to her with a small grin and chuckled nervously "heh, heh, uh listen I'm going to do something and its going to look _really weird_ so please don't freak out."

Her response was to stare at him in confusion "do you promise not to freak out?"

She nodded.

"Okay here goes" he mumbled something under his breath and traced a rectangle over the brick wall.

There was an actual outline before the wall opened like a door "follow me" he said completely ignorant of the girl's shocked expression.

The girl looked back and forth to see if anyone was looking before slowly edging her way inside. The brick door closed behind her.

"So what's your name?" Jaune spoke as he walked into a hallway.

The girl didn't follow at first, too shocked to comprehend what just happened. She eventually did walk when he stopped and gave her answer

"It's Neo"

 _\_

* * *

 **The Apprentice**

* * *

Emerald eyes opened but the first thing she picked up was the scent. She blinked, cardboard never felt this soft before and the streets never smelled so good.

*Growl*

The sound of her stomach growling finally made her realize a few things. First of all she wasn't on the streets anymore, she was in a house and she wasn't lying on cardboard or cold concrete but a bed that might as well be clouds.

How did she end up there?

The memories started flooding in, she was approached by a boy who offered her a place to stay out of the rain. She accepted and he led her to his house through a secret door hidden as a brick wall. Well that certainly made more sense than what _he_ told her it was.

She scoffed _'like magic was real.'_

She may be young but she wasn't naïve and there is no way she would be fooled by some kid three years her junior. She humored him though, he did offer her a place to stay, Oum knows why but who was she to question the decision of some rich kid.

The best she could do was enjoy it until his parents come home and kick her out.

She slowly sat up and stretched while releasing a silent yawn. She didn't know what time it was but considering that the sun was peeking through the blinds it was safe to say it was morning.

Morning…

Soon the smell of whatever that was cooking wafted into her nostrils and her stomach alerted her to its presence. She kicked the covers away and proceeded to the bathroom for a shower. Her shower came fully stocked with everything a girl would want to maintain herself, most notably were the hair care products.

There was a portable step for her to look in the mirror which she will get to in a moment but first she turned on the shower head and felt the temperature. Warm, as it always is but she couldn't help but check. Last night _he_ assured her that there will always be warm water, food and clothing.

She didn't believe him, especially considering he lived alone but how could she dispute all that she had seen so far. She remembered a time when she regularly bathe, it was a long time ago but she could remember. Her eyes surveyed the numerous collections of soap, shampoos, conditioners and dental products. Judging by the look they were the good stuff not any of the cheap brands.

How could he afford it? Wait how could he _not_? He was living in a mansion for Oum's sake. The better question is how did he manage to get them in the room overnight? She certainly didn't see all this stuff there last night.

And neither was that.

She approached the pile of neatly folded clothes and took the note attached to them which read

 _I didn't know what you wanted to wear so I just picked something that would fit you. I also didn't know what brand of soap or hair care products you wanted so I got one of everything._

 _P.S. There are more clothes in the closet._

 _Signed Jaune Arc_

Jaune Arc…wait did he do this? She was under the impression his butler or maid did it...or maybe they did and he's just taking credit. Taking a look at the clothes she decided the latter was more truthful.

After the shower and subsequent washing of her hair Neo went downstairs wearing a black dress and shoes. She had a troubled expression, it didn't take a genius to know what a girl can wear but how did he choose it in such a way that it was actually decent to wear?

How did he know what she liked?

His maid maybe?

The black haired girl walked in the kitchen to see breakfast already made and the boy in question eating. Neo looked around the room expecting to see someone else but he was the only one in the room.

"No one else is here" she looked to him "I wasn't lying when I said I lived alone" her eyes trailed to the breakfast then back to him. Jaune rolled his eyes "yes I made breakfast by myself, it was really hard and I would like it if it was eaten while it's hot"

Neo blinked before complying hesitantly "don't worry its edible" to prove his point he bit into the bacon.

Neo was still hesitant, until her stomach growled again. She silently sat down and took a bite of the food. Jaune paused to observe her reaction and was quite pleased once she started eating like the starved little girl she was.

"See I told you" he smiled.

Neo tossed him a glare but predictably said nothing and Jaune sat back to observe her. Neo was so caught up with the food she didn't notice him staring until she was almost finished. She tilted her head as if asking 'what?'

"You don't really talk much do you?"

She shook her head

" _Can_ you speak?"

She swallowed and drank some of the milk "I can"

Jaune's eyebrow quirked up until now he honestly thought she was mute "why didn't you say something before?"

She shrugged picking at the remainder of her food.

"Did you think a mute girl would have a better chance of staying than a normal girl?"

This caused her to look at him in surprise and it only grew once she saw how sharp his eyes had become. She didn't think a kid could ever have eyes like those, it was a little disconcerting.

"I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer it honestly. Can you do that?"

Neo could only nod. She wasn't even sure she was hearing a child anymore.

"What is it you're going to do after this?"

"Huh?"

"I know you don't plan on staying here for the rest of your life. Though you can if you want to" he added "but I'm sure you must have some dream or something to aspire to be in the future, right?"

Neo stared at him long and hard before looking down to glare at the plate. She didn't have any long term plans, hell she didn't even think she would have been alive long enough.

Jaune kept silent as she pondered "I guess you wouldn't have an answer _right now_ since you're, you know, so young but as for me" he leaned on the table and interlaced his fingers "I want to save this world."

"…what?"

"Have you ever wondered why Remnant is the way it is?" he asked mysteriously.

Neo shook her head "not really."

"Oh, well never mind then" he rubbed the back of his head and left the table "I'll be in the third door on the right of the hallway if you need me. Don't open any of the other doors and if you can't help yourself, make sure you bring a 'key' with you" he gestured to one of the five keys hung up on the wall.

' _What was I thinking? She's too young to wonder about the philosophical questions of the world. Great now she'll think I'm weird.'_

Neo watched the boy go with a questioning glance "what was that all about?"

\\\\\

Neo found herself wandering around the mansion utterly bored. Throughout the entire walk she noted the absence of…well anyone. For all intents and purposes there was no one else in the mansion. Yet at the same time it looked clean, like it was being cleaned regularly.

The mansion itself was old, like really old in fact Neo felt like she was in a different time period. So far the area she'd been in was fairly modern like something she could see in a family setting but this part of the mansion was ancient.

Not for the first time she wondered if she was in the same place.

She also noted that not all the doors were unlocked even though she used the key to try and open it. Eventually she came to a closed door with the words library written on a gold plaque. Neo wasn't one to read but she was bored enough to look _anywhere_ that was not an oddly clean yet creepy hallway.

She tried the door but it didn't budge ' _why did I even try?'_ she glanced at the key and figured _why not._

To her surprise there was a click and she could literally hear the mechanisms echo in the hallway very slowly, _too_ slowly. It actually took five minutes before the door opened by itself to reveal the largest most extravagant library she has ever seen. The room actually looked a lot larger than the hallway- _how was that even possible?_

\\\\\

Sweat rolled down his face as he glared at his opponent. In his hands he held a three pronged knife in his hand, the other one was currently on the ground as his free hand clutched his side where a bit of blood seeped through.

"I remember this being a lot easier" he grunted "stupid doll."

The golem didn't respond, it had deactivated the moment Jaune's Aura was low enough to not protect him from damage.

Jaune sighed "I guess it's not your fault" he lamented and groaned to pick up the other sai.

He exited the door and limped down the hallway to the medical room to get some healing salve.

' _That was an utter disaster'_

Jaune found that there is nothing more exasperating than to find that you have overestimated yourself. In his case he overestimated how his prowess in battle would go in his current form, even with some muscle memory and his abnormally large Aura reserves (for a child) he didn't last long against the combat golem.

He may have jumped the gun in his decision but in his defense he wasn't as weak as a normal boy. He already spent a number of months refining his Aura control and he was fairly competent in a fight but-yeah if he were older that spar would have gone a lot more in his favor.

The scent of sterility hit his nostrils as he entered the makeshift infirmary and headed straight for the medicine cabinet.

"Okay, healing salve, healing salve, healing…" he trailed off and looked up only to immediate groan in frustration and exasperation "of course they'd be up there" he sighed.

After getting a small chair to stand up on he opened the clear cabinet filled with several bottles of red liquid. Jaune took it and climbed down and went to a table. He lifted his shirt to see the cut he received, it was hardly fatal but it still stung, especially since his Aura was too low and basic healing magic was beyond him.

Luckily he had other archaic means of healing injuries.

Case in point, he drank the potion and watched as it healed almost instantly.

"Ah~ magic"

Well not magic but he might be the only one on Remnant who knew how to use Remnant's natural resources to make those things. Most if not _all_ of Remnant's modern healing technology revolves around Dust.

For a moment he wondered just what they would do if all the Dust was suddenly gone.

Jaune shook his head "I guess I'm not going to be training anytime soon" he mused "I wonder what Neo is up to"

\\\

Neo has never been inside a library before but even she could tell that this was no ordinary library. Actually it was downright weird to say the least. Much like the hallways before the place was huge, old and if it weren't for the fact that it was oddly clean she would've thought the place was haunted.

Actually that would explain that the place is in fact haunted.

How else could she explain why every single candle in the room was lit, including the ones on the chandelier near the ceiling? The incredibly high ceiling with a painting she couldn't describe etched into the stonework. Even after ten whole minutes of staring she couldn't find the words to describe it, so she left it alone to explore.

Which brings her to the other weird part about the library – the books. Now granted that it's an old looking library she anticipated old books but she never expected this. As she looked in the book she came to an aggravated conclusion about it.

Blank

The pages in the book were blank as was all the other random books she skimmed through. Not that she would've understood what was written since all the titles were in a completely foreign language. What started as boredom turned into something of a mission which was to find a book with actual words in it.

After all there could be no way all the books in the library were blank, right? What would be the point of having them there in the first place?

"Argh" she tossed the book away

"Problems?"

Neo whirled around "no I was just…" she trailed off upon closer inspection of him "what happened?"

Jaune looked at himself, he really should have cleaned up but once he knew where she was he just had to make sure she didn't look at something she isn't supposed to.

"Just a training accident"

Neo blinked "training?"

"Yeah"

"Like to be a Huntsman?" she clarified.

' _Not really'_ he thought.

"Yes" he answered slowly but paused "would you like to join me?"

Neo thought it over, if she had training she could be a Huntress _'I would never have to rely on people again'_

"Sure" she tried to sound nonchalant.

Jaune found it amusing how she feigned lack of interest when it's clear she would love to do it. He could have called her out on it but won't look a gift horse in the mouth since this would benefit him as well as her.

"Great" he exclaimed "I'll get cleaned up and we can start later" he turned to leave.

"Wait"

"Yes?"

"How come these books don't have any words in them?" she held up a book and flip through the page to find them blank.

Jaune chuckled "that's because you need a library pass."

She stared blankly at him.

Jaune sighed and fished out a necklace with a tag from….somewhere and gave it to her "wear this and the words will appear."

Neo looked at the necklace skeptically before putting it on.

' _She really has trust issues. Not that they are unfounded.'_

He watched as she looked on the previously blank pages and her expression turned to shock as words began filling them.

She flipped through the pages then looked at him "how did you do that!" she said in awe.

Jaune smirked " _magic_ " he did an over exaggerated wave with both hands.

The girl was not amused "magic isn't real."

This time Jaune frowned "just because you've never seen something before doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

At this she put down the book "then prove it."

Blue eyes narrowed at emerald and he abruptly turned "follow me"

\

They ended up in a long hallway of doors, the same one they came through when he brought her to his mansion. Now she was curious what he wanted to show her to prove magic existed.

"What is the weather like outside?" he asked.

She paused, the last she checked "it's sunny, why?" he stopped at a door and she noticed the plaque marked 'Atlas'

"Well you might want to wear these" he handed her a coat two gloves and a pair of black boots.

She raised an eyebrow but complied and soon they were both in clothes for the winter…in summer.

"Why are we dressed like this?"

"Because Atlas' warmest temperature is 21 degrees" he answered before using a key to unlock the door.

Neo couldn't quite contain the gasp that escaped her mouth once he opened the door.

 _Snow_

It was snowing on the other side of the door he stepped aside as she approached closer with mouth agape. She reached her hand out to catch a falling snowflake, it melted against her gloved hand.

"It's real" she smiled widely and turned to Jaune "its _real_ snow!" she shouted to his amusement but she didn't notice.

Jaune watched as the skeptical 9 year old who is older than him run out into the pile of snow and begin to play. Jaune leaned against the door frame to watch her romp as if it was the first time she had ever seen snow.

He frowned _'considering where she's been it wouldn't be farfetched'_

He waited a few more minutes content to just watch her but then pushed off through the door. Jaune heard the door shut behind him and so did Neo who looked in his direction the smile still on her face. She scrambled to her feet to look at the snow angel she made in the snow.

"Are you finished playing?" he gave her an amused look.

Suddenly Neo's action dawned on her and she blushed furiously "y-yes"

She was supposed to be the older one here so why is it that he's so mature?

"Then I can show you around Atlas" he spoke walking off.

Neo followed "Atlas?"

"Yes, why do you think it's snowing even though Patch is still in the later part of summer?"

That's a good question actually. She took the time to look around and sure enough she saw buildings flying the Atlas flags, military men walked the streets and a whole lot of grey. Neo has never been to Atlas before but she's seen enough TV to know what an Atlesian looks like and this is definitely Atlesian.

So they were in Atlas.

"H-how?"

Jaune gave her a triumphant smirk "I told you before, _it's magic_ " another phantasmal wave that managed to irritate her more than anything.

Jaune suppressed a laugh when she puffed her cheeks and looked away. They walked for another few minutes with Neo taking in the sights until they came upon a building. She didn't even notice when they stopped or how they even got there.

"Where are we?"

"I thought you might be hungry and this place serves a great hot chocolate."

A few minutes later they were seated at a table, the coffee house was warm, smelled of chestnuts and had an elegant flair to it. They both ordered hot chocolates and cake. Neo took the time from observing her surrounding to observing the boy across from her whose eyes had a distant look as he watched the cars pass by through the window.

Her eyes suddenly drifted to her surroundings there were a few people looking their way and whispering while giggling. Neo pouted because she was confused but chose to ignore them and bite into the delicious cake.

Jaune also noticed the whispers but wasn't really bothered by it. There were a few couples in the place and considering he was the one who lead her here it looked like they were on a date. To anyone with a heart seeing two kids not even old enough to _know_ what a date is in a date-like setting would be cute, adorable even.

His musings were interrupted when Neo finally spoke "are you going to finish that?"

He looked at her staring at his cake, as a gentleman he would have just pushed it towards her but since he was a six year old with a notorious sweet tooth he pulled it closer

"Mine"

"But you didn't even eat any yet" she tried to swipe it but Jaune held it up and dragged his tongue across it "eww" she retracted her hands as if burned "you're gross"

Jaune laughed as he got up, now sure she wouldn't be able to eat his cake while he went to buy another one for his 'date.'

Neo didn't bother looking at him, her eyes trailed to the snowfall. Her gaze was interrupted when a plate was set down, she looked down to see not one but two slices of different cakes.

Neo looked to him "I bought the chocolate but the nice people gave me strawberry for free"

Neo went to dig in but paused to look at him "um, t-thanks"

"No problem just tell me anything else you need"

She paused at this and actually put down her spork "why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are doing this for me?"

Well Jaune certainly expected this question sooner or later "would you believe me if I said it was because it's the right thing to do?" her expression told him the answer "you don't trust people easily do you?"

Neo looked down and took a bite from the cake then frowned, even the chocolate-y goodness didn't taste as good as before.

"That's a good thing" he assured and she met his gaze "you should never trust strangers easily. You never know what they could be planning."

"What are you planning?"

"I want to save Remnant" he said seriously.

There it was again, the child was gone.

"How?"

Jaune looked around "by destroying the enemy of man and Faunus-kind."

Everyone knows the enemy of mankind is the Grimm so that means "you want to be a Huntsman?" she tilted her head.

Jaune smiled "I don't have to be a Huntsman to do that."

"Then how are you going to fight the Grimm?"

Jaune chuckled "I didn't say I wanted to destroy the Grimm, although that's the end result of my mission."

Neo didn't fully understand what that meant but she did understand his next words "will you help me?"

She paused "what's in it for me?"

"You mean besides saving Remnant and everyone on it?"

She blinked at his bluntness but nonetheless nodded.

Jaune sighed "I can train you in combat and I'll sponsor you when you go to a combat school"

Her eyes widened "really?"

Jaune nodded "sure why not"

He could use someone on the inside anyway, although he found it a bit disappointing she didn't see the bigger picture. Then again she's 9 and being a Hunter is the only viable gateway out of the harsh life.

' _Hopefully she'll come around in the future. Until then I'll enjoy the peace with my cute new apprentice'_

 _\_

* * *

 **Neo-Politan**

* * *

Cerulean eyes stared at the taller girl before him a number of emotions ran through his expression namely the ones of shock, confusion but the most prevalent was _anger_.

"What did you do?" he spoke his voice harsh.

In the three years that they had been living together Neo had never seen him this mad before.

' _ **You deserve it'**_

' _You messed up'_

She squeezed her eyes shut in a vain attempt to quiet _them_.

They were right though, she messed up royally, he trusted her and she took advantage of it and now here they were.

She opened her mouth to talk but no words came out

' _Silly girl you can't talk that was part of the_ _ **deal**_ _remember?'_

"Neo?"

She tried to speak again but nothing came out and then realization dawned on him "you can't speak can you."

She nodded.

Jaune released an aggravated sigh and leveled a glare at her "it's your own fault you know? This" he gestured to her "all of it, you brought on yourself" he stated coldly.

Jaune hadn't realized how cold he was until he saw tears rolling down her eyes. She covered her face before collapsing on the ground with constant shaking gasps. Jaune cursed under his breath before enveloping her in a tight, reassuring hug.

"I'm sorry, it's not your fault"

She shook her head and looked at him through tear soaked eyes. Neo mouthed some words but to no avail. Still Jaune understood what she tried to convey

"I understand" he sighed Neo didn't stop sobbing.

Jaune looked down at the girl who had become something of a close friend to him he would even go as far to say she was like one of his seven sisters. He was lying, it wasn't her fault, it was his. He should've known just telling her not to touch that book wouldn't be enough. He should've placed a ward on it.

But he trusted her, they've been living under the same roof for years now. He thought she would understand, after everything she'd seen that when he said not to do something she would follow. But she didn't he didn't know what exactly possessed her to read that accursed book but it didn't matter the damage was done.

' _Dammit Neo what were you thinking!?'_

The sobbing girl he embraced thought the same thing as well.

\

 _At first she couldn't believe it the first time and even after months of living with him still couldn't believe it. The very notion made her scoffed but the evidence had been shoved in her face, sometimes literally, over and over and over again. The first time she saw it, she dismissed it, the second time she saw it she was too overwhelmed to notice it but there was no denying it now._

 _Magic is really a thing and Jaune despite his age was a master magician trapped in a child's body….literally!_

 _Of course that revelation hadn't sit well with Neo, not at all she was nine years old and street smart while he was clearly a six year old boy yet it explained so much about him at the time. Why he always seemed so much mature, why he was smart and why it felt like he was the one taking care of her._

 _During that time he wasn't forthcoming with his past or circumstances, not that she cared and he only seemed willing to share if only she was interested. Eventually her naïve disinterest gave way to curiosity and she broached the subject of just what he wanted to accomplish. Yes she remembered, it was around the time she finally accepted magic as a thing._

 _He gave her a brief synopsis of what the world once was and should be. He spared her any details, though they would have just flown over her head considering his story was presented through a memory projector._

 _Neo's then eight year old mind was blown and she immediately wanted to learn. Unfortunately magic wasn't like Aura or Semblance and being a magician was clearly different than being a Hunter. She just didn't have the talent for magic and that hurt but she persevered._

 _She trained along with Jaune who had the edge because of his knowledge and prior conditioning. Neo had never thought to train while she was on the streets, the only thing that mattered was surviving. It took her weeks to fall into the same routine as Jaune and even then he was ahead of her._

 _Neo wasn't bothered by it though since she knew she would eventually catch up, it was still years before she would be eligible to enroll in a combat school. Fast forward three years later and she attempted to enroll in Signal. It was at that time she realized the reality of her situation, Neo failed her examination._

 _She simply wasn't strong enough despite training so hard over the years, despite trying her best it just wasn't good enough and she failed to make the cut. Once they reached home Jaune gave her some space and she drowned her sorrows in her room with her favorite comfort food, ice-cream._

 _Neapolitan ice-cream._

 _That was where it all started, with that stupid ice-cream brand._

 _She got the idea in a moment of self reflection that she'd never be able to go into a combat school at this rate. Signal wasn't possible now and she couldn't wait another year. Signal wasn't the only combat school available to her, just the closest and Sanctum wasn't starting enrollment for another week._

 _She still had time but there was no way she would be able to get good enough in combat within a one week time frame. No...there was actually another way but Jaune forbade her from even going near that place let alone using one of its books._

 _In the end Neo decided to do it despite what her friend told her about the consequences._

 _Deep within the library in a cordoned off section laid a book Jaune once told her about a book that actually granted people powers but at a cost. Well whatever the cost she was willing to pay, as long as it wasn't her soul or something._

 _It was a stupid decision in hindsight but she was desperate. She didn't do backbreaking training for three years just to give up now. She had to become a Huntress, Neo can't see herself doing anything else. Jaune's already got his affairs in order, he knows what he wants and for her there was no turning back._

 _Getting the book wasn't hard, she was disinterested in the library and Jaune gave her full access back when she was interested in learning magic. She brought it to her room where Jaune was expecting her to be. She didn't know what to expect, the book itself was old, with leather bindings in a language she couldn't understand._

 _That didn't stop her though, she undid the bindings and opened the book and a huge gust of wind blew through the room out of nowhere. Neo looked down at the book, she's familiar enough with the general weirdness of things like this to not freak out and drop it._

 _ **What do you desire?**_

 _Those were the words that suddenly appeared on the book page. She didn't speak she got the nearest pen and wrote her answer._

" _I want to be stronger"_

 _ **What are you willing to sacrifice?**_

 _That made her pause, exactly what was she willing to sacrifice for strength? Then she remembered the years before Jaune found her. The constant running, the scavenging, the worry that she wouldn't live through the cold, cruel nights. It was with those thoughts that she wrote her answer._

" _Everything"_

 _After she wrote that word she dropped the book when something sharp pierced through her Aura and drew blood, the book hit the nightstand where her half melted ice-cream sat and the bucket fell on top of the open pages mixing with the blood. Both the blood and the ice-cream soaked into the pages._

 _The book floated before her and the words slowly formed in a mixture of red, brown, pink and white._

 _ **Contract accepted ;)**_

 _Neo's eyes widened at the smiley face but she could say nothing as her vision became engulfed in white._

 _She woke up to the sound of banging on her door before Jaune came in her eyes glanced at the vanity and she saw firsthand the results of her action._

 _\_

That was how Jaune found her, he sensed the spellwork happening and dropped what he was doing to go towards the other occupant of the house. He knew that spell though he wouldn't call it that, it was more of a sick joke and seeing what it did to Neo only confirmed that notion.

The book was made a long time ago, back when magic was more prevalent and one could actually communicate with other-worldly beings: spirits, demons and even gods. Not even he was sure about the origins of the book but knew of its properties. The book would use the powers of the gods to grant the desires of whoever opened its pages.

But with every wish the user would have to sacrifice something. It would vary depending on the desire but it would be something precious to the user. Upon discovering the book Oscar had tried to contact the source of its power to negotiate better terms of sacrifice so he would be able to rid the world of Grimm.

He learned two things that day, the first was the book's power was limited so long as the scope is narrowed to affect only him. The second thing he learned was that the spirit inside the book was malevolent, it took pleasure in watching whatever poor soul suffer when it takes something from them.

The thing is when it takes something from a user it leaves something like an imprint on their minds. What he learned was that anyone who uses the book would eventually lead a path to self destruction while bringing as many people down with them as they can.

Once her silent sobs stopped Jaune loosened his embrace "Neo" she slowly looked into his eyes and Jaune sighed "look everything's going to be alright"

She looked at him hopefully and he didn't need to hear her voice to know what she was asking. He almost looked away when he spoke

"You won't be able to go back to normal. Believe me I've tried"

He's tried to destroy the book but the magic was too strong and he may still have use for it. May the gods help him when he is ever desperate enough to use that book.

Wait

He momentarily let go of Neo to get the book "something's wrong" he flipped through the pages.

He couldn't feel it.

He would always be able to sense the spirit inhabiting the book but he couldn't feel anything.

' _If it's not in the book then…'_ his thoughts trailed off and he slowly turned to the girl wiping away the tears.

"Neo, what did you ask from the book?" he questioned warily.

Neo blinked her now mismatched eyes were white-pink, she blinked and now they were pink-brown. Her head cocked to the side and a coy smirk spread across her face. A second later 'Neo' slammed into the wall with a very angry Jaune grabbing 'her' collar.

"Get out of her body… _now!_ She's not yours to take demon! _"_

She simply raised an eyebrow before mouthing a questioning 'oh?'

The next thing Jaune knew she pushed him on his back and straddled him while pinning his arms to the floor. Her smile grew at seeing his bewildered expression and how could he not be, Neo was never that good. She mouthed some words which earned her a confused look, 'Neo' rolled her eyes and mouthed the words again her previous amusement gone.

' _Can you hear me now?'_

"Yes" Jaune answered tersely.

' _Good, now then first of all don't blame me for this girl's action. She was the one who sought my book, she was the one who wrote her desire and what she would be willing to sacrifice.'_

"I don't see how she would sacrifice her voice and her appearance."

' _She desired to be stronger and would sacrifice anything for her strength. Since she wasn't specific with either I chose what to take and how to fulfill her desire. I took her voice and as for her appearance; it was unfortunate she spilled ice-cream on the pages and mixed it with her blood.'_

She looked thoughtful before eyeing the mirror.

' _Although I must say it didn't turn out too badly, I would even call this new look an improvement. Pink and brown definitely suites her more than black.'_

Jaune agreed but there was no way he would admit that so he scoffed at her making her redirect her attention to him again. She leaned down closer to his face until their noses were almost touching. Jaune's cheeks turned slightly red from the personal contact, Neo wasn't an ugly girl and the spirit knew it.

' _Stupid hormones, aren't I too young to be interested in girls at this stage in my life!?'_ he mentally screamed but maintained the façade.

' _Come now Jaune admit it, you think I look fabulous.'_

Ignoring her words Jaune spoke "why are you in Neo's body anyway? That's not how you usually do things."

At this her expression turned serious and she came off of him to look in the vanity mirror.

' _It's been a very long time since someone has opened my book, a lot has changed and I saw through the girl's eyes just how much this world has changed.'_

Jaune was surprised at her somber expression "weren't you keeping track of world events through your magic?"

' _That's just it I haven't, the magic all of it is gone'_

"What do you mean gone? Sure there aren't many persons born with the talent for magic but it's still there."

' _Yes it's there in the very few people born with it but as for everything else there is none. Something,_ _ **someone**_ _is draining the world of its magic and you and I both know who it is.'_

Jaune was floored, he knew _she_ would have to be siphoning magic to keep summoning her pets to Remnant but he always assumed…..he would never think she would be draining magic from Remnant itself to do this. His thoughts were paused when she spun around to glare at him.

' _I never realized this world was so deprived of magic. I wasn't even able to properly grant the girl her desire. Transferring into her body was not only the last act I could do with how limited the magic was. Part of it was because it was the only thing I could think of to grant her desire and the other reason…'_

She approached Jaune and looked down at him before kneeling much to his shock.

' _I wish to pledge my services to you. From the girl's memories I can only figure that this was all caused by the_ _ **Witch.'**_

The shock at her declaration melted from his face "you know about her?"

' _Of course I do, back then magic was flowing so freely I could monitor the outside world. You both caused quite the stir if I remembered it right, hey is it true that you two-'_

"Don't even go there" Jaune interrupted with a scowl.

' _Of course I didn't think of it back then but what she's doing now I can't let it go. I don't care about her vendetta against humanity but no one; nothing can mess with the natural order and get away with it. Jaune Arc you want to kill the Witch, I will help you achieve your goal.'_

There was a pause as Jaune mulled over her words "well that's all well and good but I think Neo deserves to have a say in all this, it is her body, her life after all"

' _Then I should leave you two to talk'_

At this Neo blinked and her eyes shifted to white-brown _'Jaune?'_

"Yeah I can hear you. Did you hear that conversation?"

She nodded _'yeah'_

"What do you want to do? I mean I know the whole reason you did this was to try a different combat school..." he trailed off.

Her expression became sad _'I-I know and I don't want to go anymore'_ she bit back the tears _'everyone else worked their butts off to enroll just as much as is did, maybe even more. Even if I did get in it wouldn't be because of my own work I just took a shortcut. I don't_ _ **deserve**_ _to be there.'_

Jaune nodded in understanding "then you'll help me?" she nodded "it would be dangerous and I won't lie, it might not yield any results."

Neo shook her head _'it doesn't matter just-just promise me one thing'_

"Anything" he said without thinking and almost fell over when she enveloped him in a tight hug.

' _Promise me, no matter what you'll never leave me.'_

Neo was oblivious to the stunned boy who could only numbly reply "o-okay then"

\\\

Neo was nervous

She stood before an Ursa alone, well not alone Jaune was around..somewhere. It was suggested that she test out her supposed new found strength and both she and Jaune wanted to spar. The spirit who dubbed itself Politan wouldn't have any of that and wanted a challenge since it was her first fight and it was her body too.

So they came up with the idea of fighting Grimm instead which in hindsight was a very dumb, very dangerous idea. Before all this Neo could barely fight a Beowolf and now she's supposed to kill an Ursa!?

' _Oh for the love of- would you calm down we can kill this thing without much effort.'_

' _We can?_ _ **I**_ _can?'_

' _Isn't strength what you desired?'_

' _Well yeah but-'_

' _Then why isn't it dead yet? You have the power to kill it so get to it. Just do what comes naturally.'_

' _What comes naturally'_ she repeated before staring at the Ursa who began charging at her.

On the sidelines within the confines of a cloaking spell Jaune watched with worry as Neo's stance became lax, almost casual. She held her rapier off the side as the Ursa charged and once it opened its mouth to feast on her petite body she acted.

With grace he's never seen in her before Neo flipped over the Ursa performing a corkscrew and used the momentum to chop off its head. She landed in a crouch and stood, she looked over the vanishing corpse of the Beowolf and thought one thing.

' _That's it?'_

' _That's it~'_

Jaune de-cloaked himself and approached her "wow that was… _wow_ " he had to hand it to her at his current level he wouldn't be able to beat an Ursa without magic.

' _Now what?'_

"Now, we plan our first move" he said sagely.

 _To Be Continued_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Bet none of you were expecting that were you. I've always wondered about Neo's appearance, sure some people chalked it up to her dying her hair but changing her eyes? Neo might just be the weirdest looking character in RWBY. I mean** _ **three**_ **color themes instead of the standard one? Monty must have been smoking a joint when he created her.**

 **I'll admit, this story is kind of a parody to all the different characterization of Neo in other stories and also the general consensus that she's OP. So the most logical explanation for all that? Obviously she's an orphaned girl who made a deal with an evil spirit OP powers and became possessed by it.**


End file.
